On July 18, 2024, VietNamNet newspaper cooperated with the Authority of Telecommunications (AOT) to organize a workshop with the theme ‘How should people prepare for 2G cessation?’

Every country applies its own methods when shutting down 2G and 3G. However, if a mobile network operator wants to deploy new 5G, it cannot use too many technologies at the same time, including 2G, 3G and 4G, because this is costly and ineffective.

Therefore, it is necessary to shut down old technologies to reserve resources and wireless wavebands for new technologies, thus satisfying development strategies by telecom carriers and the nation. Vietnam chose to shut down 2G to accelerate national digital transformation.

It is expected that the cessation of 2G technology must be completed by September 2024. This is the time when mobile telecommunication service business licenses and radio frequency band licenses will expire.

MIC has announced the 2G cessation roadmap, so that telecom subscribers can shift to smartphones, while telecom carriers can build their business plans and help users adapt to the new circumstances. And terminal mobile device manufacturers in Vietnam can change their business orientations=. 

Shutting down old technologies such as 2G and 3G is irreversible. GSMA reported that as of mid-2024, 149 mobile network operators had shut down old technologies. Most countries that had shut down 2G are developed countries, with 63 percent of them in Europe and 20 percent in Asia. The US and Singapore shut down old technologies in 2017, and Australia in 2018.

The 2G cessation will bring great benefits to people and businesses, as well as promote the development of digital society, digital economy and digital government.

This allows people to use higher-quality 4G/5G broadband services, help fulfill the "one smartphone for every individual" plan.

For businesses, they will remove old technologies from their networks, which help reduce operation costs and develop green technologies. 2G technology is consuming big volume of electricity, so removing 2G not only benefits businesses, but also the entire society as it is marches towards green development.

As for the government, the 2G cessation will help liberalize wavebands and use wavebands for new technologies which can be far more effective.

Following is the brief of the seminar:

Thai Khang, VietNamNet journalist: Let’s talk about the terminal device market in Vietnam. I would like the representatives from The Gioi Di Dong, Di Dong Viet and OPPO to talk about people’s transition from 2G to 4G/5G and the growth of the smartphone market.

Truong Hong Hoang, The Gioi Di Dong: There are two major trends. A group of 2G mobile phone users will shift to use 4G and another already uses smartphones. We are following a strategy that encourages people to bring their phones to The Gioi Di Dong. We will recall, demolish or sell the products to other markets.

The Gioi Di Dong has contacted phone manufacturers to provide clients with products priced between VND390,000 and VND1.5 million. Our retail chain is running a program on supporting clients to shift to use smartphones, change SIM free of charge and offer more data.

For clients who use smartphone for the first time, they tend to buy products priced at VND1.9-5 million. Clients are allowed to pay by installment and in some cases, they even don’t have to reserve.

Hoang Ngoc Minh, Di Dong Viet: We have three groups of clients. The majority of clients will shift to use low-cost smartphones priced at VND4-5 million, such as Oppo and Xiaomi. The second group consists of clients using phones with keyboard and wanting to exchange for 4G devices. The third group is the businesspeople using Vertu 2G or wanting to use Vertu 4G.

Vu Thanh Trung, Oppo Vietnam: We have supported the shift for a long time. We understand that shutting down 2G is inevitable to make room for other, more modern, technologies. The development of AI technology and 5G technology will bring big benefits to users and businesses.

Oppo has prepared various smartphone models with prices at below VND5 million. The products have good design, long battery, fast charging and high durability – the factors that clients of the market segment like the most. We have launched smartphone models with different configurations and designs, priced at VND2-4 million.

(to be continued...)

VietNamNet