Vodafone Portugal will begin to progressively disconnect the 3G network within a year. The telecommunications operator announced this Friday that the measure, which will begin in July 2024, it is an “important step in improving customer access to faster, more efficient, and even more secure communications.”
In a statement, Vodafone explains that it is an “inevitable change in the face of technological evolution.” The progressive disconnection of the 3G network will make it possible to respond to the growing consumption of data, adds the company.
Frequencies that have so far been used for the third generation of mobile networks will be reallocated to the use of more modern networks, such as 4G and 5G. “With this update, which benefits the digitization of the country, communications gain more speed, capacity, stability, efficiency, and resilience,” he explains.
Vodafone Portugal says that the “overwhelming majority” of customers will not be affected by the change, since equipment and SIM cards compatible with the remaining generations of mobile communication are used. Affected customers will be “timely contacted by Vodafone” and will have a period of one year to update their equipment or their SIM card. The company created a page on the website to answer questions on the subject. It is explained that customers who still have a 3G card can ask stores for a duplicate SIM, already compatible with more modern networks, free of charge.
3G arrived in Portugal in 2004, enabling faster mobile Internet access and the first steps in video viewing. But, with the mass access of 4G and, more recently, with the adoption of 5G, 3G has significantly reduced its contribution to the total weight of global data traffic.
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The operator also mentions that the network equipment that enables 3G operation is currently less energy efficient, arguing that modernization and replacement will have a positive environmental impact.
The closure of the 3G network in Portugal follows similar movements that Vodafone has already carried out in other markets, such as the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, the United Kingdom or Ireland.
Source: Observadora
