2G mobile services to cease from April 2017

Singapore

TECHNOLOGY savvy Singapore may have one of the world's highest penetration of smartphones which use the country's 4G and 3G networks but there are still 250,000 mobile phone users who are on the antiquated 2G network that was set up more than 20 years ago.

Come April 1, 2017, these users, who represent around 3 per cent of the country's mobile phone connections, will have to upgrade to a 3G or 4G connection as the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) has approved a request by the three mobile network operators (MNOs) - M1, Singtel and StarHub Mobile - to close their 2G networks.