Are operators “breaking away from” the old ways? 2G/3G networks will eventually leave the stage

Recently, China Telecom Yunnan Company (Yunnan Telecom for short) issued an announcement stating that "3G-EVDO data services will be gradually shut down from June 1". As soon as the news came out, it immediately triggered heated discussions in the industry. Why did the operator choose to implement the 3G network withdrawal at this time? Are the conditions for 2G/3G network withdrawal in my country mature at present? What far-reaching impact will the successful withdrawal of 2G/3G bring to the construction and development of 5G? In the eyes of the reporter, it is not easy for operators to abandon the 2G/3G network that once cost a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources to build. However, with the large-scale deployment of 5G construction, it is time for 2G/3G to withdraw from the stage of history.

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2G/3G network withdrawal is inevitable

As we all know, the withdrawal of 2G/3G networks is not a "new thing". With the development and innovation of communication technology worldwide in recent years, most foreign telecom operators have become firm "advocates" of the withdrawal of 2G/3G networks. Japanese operators began to shut down 2G networks in the early stages of 4G network construction, and when 5G construction started, they also started the withdrawal of 3G networks; Swiss operators plan to completely shut down 2G networks in 2020-2021 to obtain more site resources and spectrum resources to deploy 5G networks; Indian operator Bharti announced that it will shut down 3G networks in 22 states in 2020 and increase investment in 4G networks to prepare for the rapid deployment of 5G.

my country's three major operators have also long been thinking about how to accelerate the withdrawal of 2G/3G networks. Especially after my country officially launched the construction of 5G networks in 2019, the three major operators have all faced the embarrassing situation of "four generations living under one roof" of 2G/3G/4G/5G. The ensuing problems such as insufficient site resources, limited spectrum, complex networks, and increasing operation and maintenance costs have also brought great troubles to operators.

Of course, the benefits of 2G/3G network withdrawal are obvious. Yang Guang, an expert in the field of wireless communications, said: "From the perspective of spectrum utilization, the withdrawal of old technologies can free up spectrum to deploy new technologies. New technologies have higher spectrum efficiency and lower unit cost, which can make more effective use of limited spectrum resources." From the perspective of operation and maintenance, an industry expert told reporters: "Network equipment has a life cycle. If 2G/3G equipment is replaced after its life cycle, the cost may be more expensive than buying a new 4G/5G base station, and the subsequent equipment maintenance cost is also higher, and the network utilization efficiency is lower."

In the 5G era, the frequency bands of mobile communications continue to rise, resulting in increased network construction costs. As 5G construction accelerates, the industry's calls for "network withdrawal" are getting louder and louder. Yang Guang said: "Low-frequency bands are of great significance for the rapid and cost-effective construction of 5G networks. On the one hand, they can quickly achieve 5G coverage in remote areas, help expand 5G coverage, and enable more consumers to enjoy 5G services. On the other hand, this move will also help improve the 5G experience in indoor environments, which will be of great benefit to promoting the development of 5G in my country." In the 5G era, the industrial chain focuses more on the development of the To B end and is committed to empowering vertical industries with 5G. Wang Tan, a senior engineer at the Spectrum Management Research Department of the National Radio Monitoring Center, emphasized: "Low-frequency bands have two major advantages. One is that they focus more on the breadth and depth of public communication coverage, and the other is that they have great advantages in the wide-area large-connection scenarios of the Industrial Internet and the Internet of Things."

Therefore, whether from the perspective of operators or from the perspective of technological change, network withdrawal is like a "river rolling forward", which is an inevitable trend. As Wen Ku, Director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at a press conference of the State Council Information Office on October 22, 2019: "The withdrawal of 2G/3G networks is an inevitable choice for the renewal of mobile communications."

Operators have already deployed "network withdrawal"

Although the 2G/3G network withdrawal has only recently been explicitly mentioned at the national level, in fact, the operators have already had long-term planning and deployment. Due to historical reasons, the 2G/3G network construction foundations of the three major operators are not the same. In the 2G era, China Mobile and China Unicom respectively obtained GSM network licenses (that is, 2G licenses), and China Telecom only had fixed-line and broadband licenses. In the 3G era, there are three major mainstream communication technologies in the world: WCDMA, CDMA2000 and TD-SCDMA. Among them, China Unicom was issued a WCDMA license, China Telecom obtained a CDMA license, and China Mobile was responsible for building the TD-SCDMA network. Official information shows that China Telecom is currently promoting the withdrawal of CDMA from the network, gradually migrating 2G voice services to VoLTE, and requiring 5G terminals to no longer support CDMA; China Mobile has promoted 2G frequency reduction and 3G network withdrawal to accelerate the coordinated development of 4G/5G; China Unicom has also promoted 2G network withdrawal in some areas, encouraging 2G users to upgrade to 4G and re-cultivating 2G spectrum for 4G/5G.

Jin Feng, a senior analyst in the communications industry, analyzed the progress of operators' network withdrawal from three levels. First, at the terminal level, after 4G became relatively mature, the three major operators put forward requirements, hoping that the industry chain would no longer develop 3G mobile phones, and the 2G network was mainly used for terminals such as elderly phones and smart watches. Secondly, in terms of frequency recultivation, the NB network of the three major operators is actually a recultivation of the original 2G frequency. In order to better develop the Internet of Things, in August 2019, China Mobile allocated part of the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrum to China Unicom and China Telecom respectively, while China Unicom and China Telecom transferred the original 2600MHz spectrum to China Mobile, which is actually the country's adjustment of 2G/3G frequencies. Finally, from the perspective of base station operation, by analyzing the information on the operator's bidding website, it can be found that in recent years, multiple bidding documents in various places have dismantled the bidding sections of 2G/3G base stations. At the same time, the operator's dismantling of base stations is mainly based on the analysis of the business usage in the relevant area. For example, China Mobile's 3G base stations are the priority for dismantling.

2G/3G network withdrawal cannot be achieved overnight

Although the withdrawal of 2G/3G networks is unstoppable, there are still a small number of users of the three major operators who remain on 2G/3G, including users of early promotional packages of operators, elderly users who are still using 2G/3G feature phones, and users living in remote areas that are not yet covered by 4G/5G networks. The number of operators' users is huge, and any decision may trigger a "butterfly effect". Therefore, the withdrawal of 2G/3G networks cannot be achieved overnight.

In this regard, Jin Feng said in an interview with reporters that although the ultimate goal of 2G/3G network withdrawal is to completely shut down the 2G/3G network, in terms of specific implementation, operators must not adopt a "one-size-fits-all" model, but rather must refine the network withdrawal. Specifically, first, priority should be given to areas with high 2G/3G network idle rates; second, the gradual release of spectrum can be combined with the re-cultivation strategy of the three major operators. Of course, considering the need for universal service, before completely solving the coverage of remote areas (such as through new 4G/5G base stations or satellite network coverage), operators should retain a small amount of spectrum for communication services in remote areas.

In response to the concern of many users about "whether network withdrawal will have a serious impact on user call quality or Internet experience", an industry expert gave an official explanation: "The withdrawal of 2G/3G networks may have an impact in the short term, but it is positive in the long run. If the user's mobile phone supports 2G/3G/4G at the same time, the impact of network withdrawal on the user's network usage experience is almost negligible; and for 2G/3G users who are more difficult to replace, operators can adopt the method of retaining a thin network or cooperating with other operators to achieve network withdrawal." It is worth noting that in the process of clearing frequency and withdrawing the network, due to the vacancy of frequency bands, the available frequency resources will be relatively less in the short term, which may have a certain impact on the user experience, but as long as the operator can quickly build network coverage to make up for it, it will not have much impact on users.

China Radio and Television Corporation "clears frequency and withdraws from the network" to re-cultivate 700MHz

China Radio and Television, a "newcomer" in the field of mobile communications, has also joined the "frequency clearance and network withdrawal" campaign in order to better develop 5G. In early April this year, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television held a meeting to announce the "700 MHz Frequency Migration Work Plan for Terrestrial Digital Television", planning to complete the 700MHz frequency migration work in 2020. The radio and television bureaus in Beijing, Hebei, Yunnan, Hunan, Gansu and other places have established 700MHz frequency migration work leading groups to arrange and deploy the 700MHz frequency migration work in a timely manner.

Relevant news shows that more than 56 countries and regions in the world have started or plan to deploy 4G networks in the 700MHz frequency band using frequency division duplex (FDD) mode. Judging from the 700MHz frequency band planning schemes announced by various countries, the 703-748MHz/758-803MHz scheme is the most widely used frequency planning scheme with the most effective use of spectrum resources, and supports the evolution to 5G systems. On March 25 this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on Adjusting the Frequency Use Plan of the 700MHz Frequency Band", adjusting the frequency use plan of the 702-798MHz frequency band for mobile communication systems, and planning the 703-743 MHz/758-798MHz frequency band for mobile communication systems using frequency division duplex (FDD) working mode.

Although 700MHz started late and the industry chain is less mature, it is regarded as the golden frequency band for 5G deployment due to its wide coverage, low loss, strong penetration and other characteristics. "First, 700MHz has a wider outdoor coverage, especially in vast suburban areas; second, 700MHz has strong diffraction ability and low loss, which can improve indoor coverage conditions; third, 700MHz signal modulation and demodulation are more reliable. Of course, the antenna configuration of 700MHz is also simpler, which can save about 10 times the cost compared to high-frequency bands." Jin Feng said.

Adjusting the frequency usage of the 700MHz band will also be of great benefit to the three major operators in promoting the rapid deployment of 5G. Not long ago, China Mobile and China Radio and Television jointly determined a network construction plan and will jointly invest in the construction of a 700MHz 5G wireless network in a 1:1 ratio. However, since 700MHz is not exclusive, in the future, radio and television may also sign roaming agreements with China Telecom and China Unicom to provide 700MHz 5G networks to China Telecom and China Unicom for use.

For operators, “letting go” certainly requires courage, but the subsequent network construction and deployment is more important. Only by showing “real ability” can users be truly satisfied.