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Vodafone is making a huge change that will prevent millions of Brits from using the internet on their smartphones.
The telco has announced it will switch off its 3G network in the UK from next month, after nearly two decades of service.
It said the shutdown would allow 3G radio frequencies to be used for “faster and more efficient” 4G and 5G services, which most of its customers now use.
But it does mean that Vodafone customers with old 3G smartphones that don’t support 4G or 5G – such as the iPhone 5 or older – will have to buy a new device.
Here’s how to tell if you’re affected by the change.
Vodafone’s decision to switch off 3G means customers with old phones that don’t support 4G or 5G, such as the iPhone 5 (pictured) or older, will have to buy a new device
The first 3G voice call in the UK was made in April 2001 by Vodafone, although the 3G mobile data network was not launched until 2005.
Turning off 3G will allow Vodafone to become more energy efficient and focus on its 4G and 5G networks, which offer “more reliable connectivity,” the company said in a statement.
“Our focus remains to continue to build the UK’s most reliable mobile network and to continue to do so we need to ensure our technologies are fit for purpose,” said Andrea Dona, Vodafone’s network director in the UK.
“Now is the time to say goodbye to 3G and focus on the current benefits and future capabilities of our 4G and 5G networks.”
Dona said 3G usage has already “dropped significantly” because most Vodafone customers now use the 4G network, while newer phones use 5G.
The fifth-generation wireless standard offers faster connectivity and more bandwidth, meaning faster download speeds for Internet users and more capacity and connectivity for billions of devices.
A Vodafone spokesperson told MailOnline it could not reveal how many of its customers currently use 3G.
However, less than four percent of customer data is used on Vodafone’s 3G network, up from more than 30 percent in 2016.
According to recent research from Uswitch.com, seven per cent of the 2,000 adult Britons in the UK – possibly equivalent to several million people – say this is the only network they have access to.
Vodafone will phase out 3G in 2023, but this means many feature phone users will have to upgrade to modern devices (stock image)
Shutting down 3G will allow Vodafone to reuse 3G bandwidth, meaning its 4G and 5G networks will get a speed and capacity boost so customers can enjoy a better connection
Vodafone already ran ‘successful’ shutdown pilots in Plymouth and Basingstoke in February this year, but it has now been revealed that this will be expanded nationwide from next month.
The national closure will take place in phases throughout 2023, starting in June with Hull, Oxford and Greater London before progressing south, with the rest of the UK following later in the year.
Vodafone’s 2G network, which currently covers more than 99 per cent of the UK population, will remain for calls and texts, but it will only support very basic internet access on feature phones like Nokia’s rebooted line.
If customers have not yet switched to 4G or 5G by 2023 and have a 3G phone, it will switch to Vodafone’s 2G network.
Vodafone will keep 2G because it is a “truly universal technology,” a spokesman said, although telcos have agreed with the UK government to phase out 2G by 2033.
According to Vodafone, 4G and 5G will receive a coverage and speed boost due to the reallocation of 3G spectrum.
A move away from 3G will also reduce the company’s environmental impact, as modern 5G networks are more than 10 times more energy efficient than legacy 3G equipment.
The retirement of Vodafone’s 3G network is also ‘an important part’ of the goal of reaching net zero for its UK operations by 2027.
Net zero – a proposition used by many companies as a way to tout their environmental credentials – refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas a company produces and the amount it removes from the atmosphere.
The first 3G voice call in the UK was made in April 2001 by Vodafone, although the 3G mobile data network was not launched until 2005. Pictured, a Vodafone store in Bristol, 2003
Sending a terabyte of data over the 5G network consumes seven percent of the energy needed to send the same amount of data over the 3G network, according to Vodafone experts.
The provider has already disabled 3G Germany and Italy, while the Australian 3G shutdown will take place in December.
Vodafone UK said last year it would switch off 3G, so it has given customers more than a year’s notice to switch to a new device.
Vodafone also runs one special help page on its website to ensure customers with 3G phones are not left behind.
It follows the same decisions announced by EE a year ago and in July 2021, with 3G being turned off by the end of 2024.
The only one of the ‘big four’ UK telcos that hasn’t yet announced that it’s now ending 3G is O2.