Singapore’s 2G network is about to shutdown, and the estimated 140,000 will have to up their handset, or be left hanging.
A report from AFP suggests that when Singapore stops supporting its 2G mobile phone network this year, there will be thousands of people who could be left disconnected. Mainly the older generations who have been left behind by the rapid onset of technology.
“From technophobic pensioners to cash-strapped migrant workers, some 140,000 people in highly-wired Singapore still use the city-state’s second generation (2G) network and cheap, robust handsets…2G has long been superseded technologically, with new gold standard 5G offering lightning fast connectivity for a generation used to streaming movies and TV directly to phones” – AFP
The largest telco in Singapore, Singtel mentioned that beginning from April this year, the 2G network across not just Singtel, but all telcos islandwide will slowly be closed down.
“But not to worry – you can continue to enjoy our phone and data services without disruption simply by upgrading to a 3G or 4G handset now,” Singtel said.
However, to save the digital-what-nots, all 3 telcos, which includes M1 and StarHub, have been rolling out their handset deals for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers.
As to why 2G has to be discontinued in Singapore, Singtel said, “To cater to increasing demand for data and faster access speeds, it is necessary to close the older 2G network so that faster, more advanced 4G services can be deployed on the same spectrum. Customers using 3G and 4G handsets will not be affected.”
