Why most countries are struggling to shut down 2G
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Global leap to 4G and 5G would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people.

Global leap to 4G and 5G would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people.

  • Telecom companies aim to profit from the 2G-to-5G transition as governments worldwide face pressure to free up mobile spectrum.
  • Vietnam is the latest country to shut down 2G by offering free 4G phones to the poor.
  • India and South Africa have expressed concern that the strategy would cut off phone access for millions of vulnerable people.
  • @HeyThisIsntTheYMCAEnglish
    9•2 days ago

    So is the difference between 2g, 3g, 4g and 5g that they use different channels/frequencies, different communication protocols, or both?

    • StarDreamerEnglish
      8•22 hours ago

      There’s also changing from circuit to packet switching, which also drastically changes how the handover process works.

      tl;Dr - handover in 5G is buggy and barely works. The whole thing of switching from one service area to another in the middle of a call is held together by hopes and dreams.

    • @[email protected]English
      15•1 day ago

      Both, really. There’s been encoding improvements every generation, but they also use different slices of the spectrum.