After extensive network upgrades carried out last year and also during the first quarter of this year, telecommunications company Elisa will start shutting down the 3G network this spring.
Elisa will close the 3G network by county, starting with Rapla and Jarva counties and ending with the larger counties at the end of the year. After the closure of 3G, customers will have access to the more modern 4G and 5G networks, as well as the 2G network, the company said.
“Today, the internet is used dozens of times more than years ago, so it is only logical to direct further focus to the development of a more capable 4G and 5G network. In the future, we can invest the resources previously used to keep the 3G network running in the development of future-proof technologies, thus offering communication solutions of even higher quality and a better user experience,” Elisa Estonia CEO Andrus Hiiepuu said.
According to the company, customers no longer have any devices with only 3G support in the Elisa network, but there are still devices with 2G/3G support. After the 3G network is closed, they can continue to be used for voice service, but the customer must replace the device to use mobile data. Potentially affected customers will be personally informed by Elisa through direct notifications and as the time of closure approaches, the company will also send notifications about the exact dates through local media channels.
In preparation for the closure of the 3G network, Elisa expanded the 2G and 4G networks throughout Estonia during the past year and continued with the construction of the 5G network. In total, Elisa has added more than 250 new 2G base stations to the network. The company has also focused its attention on increasing the share of the 4G voice service, or VoLTE, technology, as a result of which the majority of Elisa’s customers already use the VoLTE service today. The company will continue to enhance the 2G, 4G and 5G networks this year.
“The frequency resources and hardware occupied by the 3G network today can be used for 4G and 5G networks in the future,” Toomas Polli, head of the technology unit at Elisa Estonia, said. “Frequency volumes are a limited asset and prioritizing newer technologies to keep up with the times and customer expectations is the right choice.”
Source: BNS
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