As announced almost two years ago, Proximus will stop its 3G services by the end of this year, the telecom operator recalled on Wednesday. The freed-up spectrum and infrastructure will be used to strengthen 4G and 5G networks. Its competitors Orange and Telenet/Base have also undertaken the same process, which will end in 2025.
For the majority of users of smartphones or 4G/5G terminals, the shutdown of 3G will have no consequences. They will be able to continue to use 4G or 5G for their calls and mobile data, reassures Proximus.
Users without 4G/5G equipment will be able to continue to call and send/receive SMS via 2G until the end of 2029.
Professional users using exclusively 3G have, for their part, already been warned and invited to replace their equipment with 4G/5G models.
Proximus says it has carried out the first tests to stop the technology and has not encountered the slightest incident.
According to the operator, the impact on data traffic will be very limited, because 3G represented less than 1% of total traffic last June. The number of devices that only work with this technology has in fact been declining continuously for several years and telecom operators have all announced the cessation of their services on this network.
Orange Belgium started the process last January. The company explains that it proceeds in stages and works in zones. For the moment, it is mainly in Flanders that this has happened but Namur, Mons, Tournai, Charleroi, Wavre, Hautes-Fagnes and Verviers should follow in the coming weeks. 3G will be deactivated across the entire country in 2025.
On the Telenet/Base side, the deletion began gradually two months ago and is also being done in phases and zones. The process will be completed by mid-2025 at the latest, it says.
