2G mobile phones survived the blackout in Spain: this is how they managed to work when all others failed

It all began at noon on Monday, April 28. At exactly 12:33 p.m., a sudden power outage left a large part of the country without power . What seemed like a temporary interruption turned into one of the largest digital blackouts Spain has ever experienced in a matter of minutes.

It wasn't just the power that went out. So did everything we take for granted every day: calls, data, card payments, even traffic lights. Mobile networks—especially 4G and 5G—crashed or disappeared altogether from many phone screens. Suddenly, millions of people couldn't make calls, send WhatsApp messages, or watch TikTok. So much for drama.

And just then, someone pulled an old Nokia out of the drawer . He turned it on. There was signal. He tried making a call. It worked. In the midst of the blackout, when almost nothing was responding, 2G phones were still working . Those phones with keypads, no apps , and no Wi-Fi, which many thought had been buried by history, were the only ones that survived. But it's not magic, and there's a technical explanation behind it.

Why did 2G phones work during the blackout?

The key is in the technology. 2G mobile phones operate on the GSM network, a much simpler, more efficient, and less energy-intensive infrastructure . They don't require internet or advanced digital services. Just an active antenna.

Unlike 4G and 5G, which require data connections, servers, cloud computing , and other intermediate layers, 2G prioritizes voice and SMS . In areas where modern repeaters went down, some 2G antennas continued to operate because they consume less power and because they were also less congested due to lower demand—few people connect to them.

Precisely for this reason, because almost no one uses these types of phones anymore, the network didn't collapse . For those who still had a basic phone or kept it as a backup, it was an emergency tool that made all the difference.

In Spain, 2G is still alive (and for a reason)

While the main Spanish operators have already begun the process of phasing out 3G , with the aim of freeing up the spectrum occupied by this intermediate technology to strengthen 4G and 5G, 2G is currently being left untouched.

This isn't always the case. According to Rest of World , more than 60 countries are shutting down their 2G networks to free up spectrum and focus on the 4G and 5G connectivity business . The problem is that this could leave millions of people behind.

In Vietnam, the shutdown was carried out strategically: free 4G cell phones were offered to low-income families, reducing the number of 2G users from 18 million to 143,000 in one year. But in other countries, such as India and South Africa, the shutdown has been delayed because millions of people still rely on basic cell phones.

Although many carriers around the world have already shut down their 2G networks , they are still active in Spain. Not out of nostalgia, but out of necessity. They remain in use for alarm systems, elevators, industrial devices, and, to a lesser extent, for phones designed for seniors, who prioritize calls and large buttons over touchscreens.

This maintenance has a cost for operators, but also strategic value. What happened on April 28th is real proof: without the 2G network, the blackout would have been even worse. The "obsolete" technology turned out to be the backup plan that no one had asked for... but that we all needed .