Why the world is struggling to move on from 2G

Sixty-one countries have begun or are planning to shut down their second-generation mobile phone networks to accelerate the leap to 4G and 5G. Vietnam and India are supporting this transition to avoid widening the digital divide, explains Rest of World.

Drawing by Matt Kenyon, UK/Ikon Images.

Last November, Nguyen Thi Que's cell phone suddenly stopped working when Vietnamese carriers permanently shut down the 2G network. "I thought I'd buy a new phone, but I don't have the money," said the 73-year-old iced tea vendor, whom she met at a Hanoi bus stop in late January.

Vietnam's plan was simple: provide free entry-level 4G phones to help struggling 2G subscribers make the leap. The strategy paid off, with their number plummeting from more than 18 million in January 2024 to 143,000 in November of that year.

Vietnam has thus carved out a place for itself on the growing list of countries – including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Jamaica – to have turned the page on 2G technology [a “second generation” network that relies on radio technology aimed at sharing a radio spectrum among many users].

In total, no fewer than 61 states, from the United States to Brazil, including South Africa, India and China, have planned or already begun to shut down their 2G networks, according to

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