Because of the 2G/3G withdrawal, my phone can't be used

As the saying goes, never know which tomorrow or the unexpected will come first, you may still be on the phone one second, and the next second the phone will become MP4.

This year, the three major operators accelerated the withdrawal of 2G/3G networks, and many users' mobile phones "became bricked", forming an impact no less than that of PHS withdrawal, and even covering some 4G mobile phone users, which shows the large radiation range.

Strictly speaking, the work of decommissioning the network began in 2021, why did it suddenly cause a large-scale and concentrated appearance this year? What is the impact of decommissioning acceleration on operators and consumers? After this encounter, how should the mobile phone be chosen after that to avoid embarrassing recurrence?

"Suddenly" unusable mobile phones

A few days ago, some Guangdong users reported that their telecom cards have been used for many years and are mobile phone cards with no minimum consumption. It has been used normally and could talk normally the day before, but in recent days it has suddenly been unable to call, which seriously affects work and life.

After asking customer service, I learned that I was using a 2G mobile phone and using a 2G network, but now China Telecom has shut down the 2G base station, and it is necessary to upgrade the network to at least 3G or 4G to restore the normal call function.

This user said that after that, he put forward the demand to maintain the original network and the original package. But the carrier refused, which said that the original plan did not support network upgrades and required users to replace mobile phones. This is not an isolated case, and similar cases have recently appeared in many parts of the country.

At the end of last month, a user in Luoyang, Henan Province, said that without receiving a notice, the family's Unicom mobile phone card suddenly could not make calls, and went to the business hall to consult and learn that due to the network upgrade of the communication operator, his family's mobile phone does not support VoLTE high-definition voice call capability, and must replace the mobile phone that supports this function to make and receive calls normally.

In other words, according to the business hall, he needs to change at least a relatively new 4G mobile phone to continue talking.

The local area has received many complaints of similar situations, including a mobile phone repair shop also told the media that the number of Unicom users who inquired about "unable to make calls" increased significantly, but after inspection, these mobile phones were no problem. Note that except for 2G mobile phones, children's watches that only support 2G networks cannot be used.

The fundamental reason for the concentration of the above situation is that the three major operators have recently accelerated the withdrawal of 2G/3G networks, such as China Telecom last year clearly to accelerate the speed of network withdrawal, originally planned to complete the withdrawal work at the end of 2024, now advanced to the end of this year.

In fact, when they first started to withdraw from the network, many users were very resistant to this, on the one hand, network upgrades meant spending extra money to buy new phones, on the other hand, they believed that the 2G network should be reserved to ensure calls.

This may sound understandable, but in the eyes of the operator is another accident?

Is it really necessary to retire the old network?

It is necessary.

The wireless communication frequency bands commonly used by mainland operators are 800/900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900/2100MHz, 2.3GHz, 2.6GHz, 3.5GHz, 4.9GHz, etc.

The lower the frequency band used, the easier it is for the signal to propagate farther, using the 800/900MHz band to build a base station, its coverage area is equivalent to four 1800MHz base stations, which can greatly save the construction cost of the base station, which is why the low-frequency frequency band such as 800/900MHz is also known as the "golden band".

Its disadvantage is that the band range is too narrow to accommodate only one network indication, which has been used for 2G before. In other words, 2G networks occupy this very valuable wireless band. If this frequency band is used in 5G networks, it can greatly improve coverage and network speed, and better promote the coordinated development of 5G and 4G.

Assuming that the 2G network is retained, operators must bear the huge O&M costs of the 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G networks at the same time, especially the electricity bill. At present, old base stations such as 2G have large power consumption, and if the network is withdrawn, a lot of electricity costs can be saved, and each station saves about 7,900 yuan in electricity costs per year. In addition, there are problems such as insufficient site resources, limited spectrum, and complex networks.

But this also raises another issue – network coverage in rural or remote areas. From the perspective of social interests, should the 2G network be retained to ensure basic calls?

In fact, it is more practical to upgrade 2G to 4G or even 5G in these areas.

Because the call carrying capacity of 4G is 7 times that of 2G, the same area, the same base station coverage density, assuming that the 2G network can support 100 people talking at the same time, 4G can achieve nearly 700 people, even if it is 3G that also needs to be withdrawn, it can achieve nearly 400 people. Volte calls on 4G networks can achieve better call quality, and 4G itself brings a far better network experience than 2G.

From the perspective of social interests, it should be to let rural and remote areas use better network systems as soon as possible.

With the launch of various unlimited call plans and family packages, the resulting massive call volume has long exceeded the carrying capacity of today's 2G network. The cost of maintaining an old 2G/3G base station is higher than buying a new set of 4G base stations.

In terms of coverage, 4G network coverage in remote and border areas began to accelerate in 2019, and by 2020, the 4G network coverage of administrative villages nationwide will exceed 98%, and the 4G network coverage in border areas will be significantly improved.

At present, among the three major operators, China Mobile has the best 4G coverage in rural and remote areas, covering 99.6% of administrative villages in the country in 2022, while the 5G network will achieve continuous coverage in townships and towns across the country and good coverage in some developed rural areas, benefiting 17.39 million people at the help tariff.

China Telecom has built more than 15,000 4G base stations, of which more than one-third of the tasks are deployed in poverty-stricken areas, promoting a significant increase in the proportion of broadband in administrative villages, poor villages, and "three districts and three states" deeply impoverished areas, and the coverage rate of 4G networks nationwide has reached 100% in townships and towns, and 96% in administrative villages.

China Unicom has built broadband access coverage in more than 14,000 administrative villages. The wireless network has built more than 10,000 stations, supported more than 9,000 administrative villages, border areas, and island coverage, greatly improved the level of rural network facilities, and the coverage rate of administrative villages nationwide has exceeded 96%.

The first minimalist base station in Guangxi was opened

In general, 4G and even 5G in rural and remote areas, have been rapidly replacing 2G, providing better call and network speed experience, but also paving the way for entertainment and live streaming goods, etc. The benefits brought by 2G and 3G withdrawal are obvious.

What to do after bricking

Some of the people who bricked their mobile phones this time because of the 2G/3G withdrawal may not know about the withdrawal at all.

Although the three major operators have previously announced that they will promote the orderly withdrawal of the network. As early as 2018, China Unicom announced the orderly promotion of 2G frequency reduction and network withdrawal, and achieved 2G full network withdrawal by the end of 2021 at the earliest. China Mobile also made it clear in 2020 that it would stop adding 2G IoT users by the end of that year. China Telecom clarified the importance of accelerating 2G/3G withdrawal last year, and again proposed the "accelerated 2G/3G withdrawal" plan in June this year.

However, this cannot be a reason for the operator to quietly shut down the 2G base station and cause users to be unable to use the 2G network in this incident. Because consumers have the right to know the true situation of the goods they purchase or use or the services they receive, the operator's unilateral approach violates the consumer's right to know.

Some early 4G mobile phones do not support the VoLTE function, and the call will fall to the 2G/3G network, and turning off the base station means losing the call function, and can only use the Internet call function of WeChat and other apps. In the same period, the dual-SIM mobile phone only supports 4G for the main card, and the secondary card only supports 2G/3G, and turning off the base station directly becomes a single-card machine, plus it does not support VoLTE, it becomes a pure network machine.

However, there is a category of users who have avoided the negative impact caused by this withdrawal from the network, that is, cottage machine users. As the brand rushes to the high-end, the market for 100-yuan machines with relatively low added value is basically in a semi-abandoned state, which gives the cottage machine room to make a comeback. When you don't protect the position, someone else will come in.

Although these cottage machines have a low configuration and may even be suspected of false publicity, they cannot stand their new network standards and survive in the 2G/3G withdrawal. There is actually no viable solution for a phone that has been bricked, only a new one.

Now choose a mobile phone in addition to hardware configuration, but also depends on how many network standards they support, these are listed on the official website configuration page. It doesn't matter if you don't know the frequency band, just remember that the more frequency bands supported by 5G/4G, the better. 2G/3G mobile phone SIM card upgrade to 4G or 5G mobile phone SIM card is free, the package can not be changed, even 4G card can use 5G network.

If you are not willing to change smartphones, Nokia now has 4G functional machines on sale, the price is about 200 away, and the price may be reduced by tens of yuan in the event of activities, and even data cards are sent.

Although the withdrawal of the network is accelerated, but in general, it depends on the gradual advancement of the region, if there are people around you who are still in 2G/3G mobile phones, it is recommended that they change to 4G or 5G mobile phones as soon as possible to avoid some unnecessary trouble.