believes an industry-led approach should drive the sunsetting of 2G and 3G mobile networks in SA.its policy document, which includes plans for the shutdown of older-generation networks.
According to Batyi, South African network operators have “already commenced with 3G migration without government intervention” – a move that’s largely been driven by the industry.“ACT maintains its support for an industry-led approach that promotes the adoption of newer technologies by users without imposing stringent government-mandated deadlines,” she says.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, says the report, 2G subscriptions will maintain a significant share during this period, with total subscriptions at 27%. This is mainly due to the region’s largely rural population, for whom broadband coverage is limited and smartphone affordability is a challenge. “SA’s economic situation is different from developed countries, where adoption of smart devices is widely taken by the majority. SA is economically unequal and has high unemployment. The 2G and 3G devices are affordable to these segments of society.
“The concerns are mostly around 2G networks, which are still largely in use to provide M2M/IOT services. Upgrading the devices to 4G or 5G devices is costly for telcos and very often the applications do not necessarily need technologies beyond 2G to run efficiently.