Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
We’re playing catch-up today as, toward the latter part of 2025, EE (BT) updated their website (here) to confirm that they intend to “begin closing the 2G network from May 2029“. But as ISPreview reported a year ago (here), the broadband and mobile operator has already begun encouraging some 2G users to upgrade ahead of the closure.
Just to recap. The government previously agreed with EE, O2, Vodafone and Three UK to phase-out existing 2G and 3G signals by 2033 (here), which will free up radio spectrum bands so that they can be used to further improve the network coverage and mobile broadband speeds of more modern networks (4G, 5G and eventually 6G). The switch-off will also reduce the operators’ costs and power consumption.
In case anybody has forgotten, EE switched-off their final 3G sites back in February 2024 (here), which actually came before their older 2G network. The situation around 2G tends to be more complicated, not least because its signals remain useful as a low-power fallback when 4G/5G isn’t present and are still necessary for some rural areas, as well as for particular applications (e.g. certain IoT / M2M services, lift alarms, telecare systems etc.).
Suffice to say that mobile operators, particularly those like O2 with a 2G link to Energy Smart Meters, have been taking a much more cautious approach to the 2G switch-off in order to give everybody plenty of warning and ample time to adapt (while also expanding 4G/5G coverage to fill any gaps). Back in January 2025 EE could only say that they would “not be closing our 2G network until later this decade“ and indeed the latest May 2029 date appears to confirm that.
Just to be clear, mobile operators tend not to begin the actual shutdown process until well after they’ve initiated the process of encouraging all affected customers to upgrade their handsets to a 4G or 5G capable device. EE has already done this with their business customers and recently started the same for their consumer base.
The network closure is thus the last part of that process and, if the 3G switch-off is anything to go by, then it will probably take EE around a year to completely switch-off the ancient network using a phased withdrawal (i.e. likely completing in early to mid 2030).