Latin America. In Latin America, no mobile operator has a defined plan of "total shutdown" of the 2G network. It is estimated that only until 2020 operators who think about "shutting down" this network will start mass migration processes, which usually takes up to 5 years to complete, according to the company Emnify, a global provider of services on mobile networks.
This is because the mobile network in Central and South America is less developed than in other continents, the coverage of the 2G network is still higher, at the beginning of 2018 still 47% of the telephone lines were 2G, calls, SMS and data in low demand predominate, technologies such as LTE of 4G do not have such a strong penetration.
Some areas only have 2G coverage
Leaders of large global providers such as Vodafone say that shutting down 2G is not a good idea as it is the ideal support for M2M and IoT applications that are on the rise. Other networks are very expensive for such light traffic. That's why using 4G (LTE) for M2M applications doesn't make much sense.
The truth is that there are no upgrades of the 2G network, so when 2G equipment of the mobile network suffers a damage or anomaly it is replaced by 3G and 4G equipment. It is then in those areas that 2G equipment will stop working and a 3G equipment is required.
Additionally in places where there was no previous coverage and operators make new installations these will only have 3G and 4G service, there must also be installed equipment with 3G technology.
In conclusion, both technologies subsist and must be used according to the area or area of installation. 3G equipment is usually more expensive since it supports both technologies (2G and 3G) and must have 4 bands for 2G and 5 bands for 3G.
Solutec recommends the simultaneous use of both technologies, with a tendency to a gradual migration of systems to 3G where necessary.
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