The UK’s mobile providers are nearing the end of their mission to shut down the country’s 3G networks that have been in use since the early 2000s, with Virgin Media O2 this month becoming the last of the four national networks to start the switch off.
Virgin Media O2 has started this by turning off all 3G services in the city of Durham on April 2, meaning anyone there with an older mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet that cannot access 4G or 5G network will not be able to connect to mobile data services.
“Customers who currently don’t have a 4G device will lose access to mobile data services if they don’t take action before 2 April”, Virgin Media previously said.
It serves as a warning to other O2 customers without a 4G device in the rest of the country. This includes those on alternative network providers that use the O2 network, such as Tesco Mobile and Giffgaff.
Virgin Media O2 said a small number of “known vulnerable customers” in Durham would be affected, and that they had been offered a 4G-ready device free of charge. Other customers without a 4G or 5G device had been “offered a new device at a reduced price.”
“The switch off in Durham is a key milestone in Virgin Media O2’s wider programme, and the company will use any lessons learned to inform the programme when 3G sites across the UK will be turned off, while also continuing to engage with consumer groups and charities such as Good Things Foundation to draw on their expertise and help manage the transition effectively,” Virgin Media O2 said.
“By starting in just one location and by putting careful monitoring in place, we’ll minimise disruption to customers and ensure the success of this essential modernisation programme,” said Jeanie York, Virgin Media O2’s Chief Technology Officer.
The firm has not yet revealed the next locations that will have their 3G connections turned off.
It means the mobile network provider has joined Vodafone and EE, who fully switched off 3G in 2024, and Three, which is in the process of closing down its 3G network, in turning off the old tech. The idea is to make more room on the airwaves for newer and more capable 5G network frequencies, as well as retiring the much less used 3G spectrum.
Three switched on the first 3G network in the UK in March 2003, enabling improved mobile data services for mobile phones. The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 popularised the idea of mobile web browsers and data-hungry apps, but it took until 2012 for EE to introduce the UK’s first 4G network with vastly improved data speeds.
Today, all four UK networks maintain 4G and newer 5G networks that can support millions of people using mobile data for things such as online gaming and video streaming. EE switched on the first UK 5G network in 2019.