Vodafone to scrap 2G next year

Vodafone will decommission its 2G network next year after 23 years in operation.

Launched in 1993, the network spectrum now carries just 0.07 percent of Vodafone's data traffic and two percent of voice traffic. The telco said about 180,000 active handsets were currently on the 2G network.

Vodafone said the 2G spectrum would be repurposed to ease some of the load on its 4G network, which handles 76 percent of its data traffic.

CTO Kevin Millroy said Vodafone wanted to ensure customers had enough time to transition away from 2G services. The network will be permanently shut off on 30 September 2017.

“With the internet of things on our doorstep, it is paramount we manage spectrum efficiently and reallocate capacity to our more advanced networks to help more of our customers have a better experience,” Millroy said.

Vodafone also mentioned it was the last of Australia's big three telco's to switch off its 2G network. Telstra will turn off its 2G network by the end of 2016, with Optus to stop 2G in April 2017.