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Swiss telco to retire ‘outdated’ mobile technology by end of 2018.
Switzerland’s Sunrise on Monday announced plans to switch off its 2G network by the end of 2018 to focus more on 4G and 4G+.
The telco said it will inform 2G consumer and business customers this month, providing the former with various upgrade options and the latter with customised solutions when they migrate.
"These will allow them to benefit from the essentially ‘defect-free’ network we are working towards, with much better coverage and voice call quality," said Sunrise CEO Olaf Swantee, in a statement.
Sunrise said it is done with "outdated 2G technology", and prefers to concentrate on expanding the range and capacity of its 4G and 4G+ networks instead.
The company noted that while its rivals focused their 4G deployments on 1800-MHz spectrum in a bid to offer high data rates, Sunrise opted for 800-MHz instead; the lower frequency enabled better long-range and indoor coverage compared to the competition, the telco said.
By the end of 2017, Sunrise aims to deliver 4G to 92% of Switzerland.
"We aim to set the Swiss quality standard for mobile calling and fast mobile Internet," Swantee said.
