Mi., Nov. 29th 2023
Sunrise wants to increase the bandwidth of 5G by 50 percent from mid-2025 by switching off the outdated 3G mobile technology (also known as UMTS). The slower version of 5G (5G Basic) is to be given more speed and greater capacity from mid-2025.
The previous 3G bandwidths will be used for 5G in future, Sunrise announced in a press release on Wednesday. This involves 5 megahertz (MHz) in the 900 MHz frequency band.
Customers would benefit from faster and more stable connections, especially inside buildings. The slower version of 5G is up to 1 gigabit per second fast, while the faster 5G version has twice the maximum speed. To switch from 3G to 5G, Sunrise does not have to convert any antennas, but only reallocate the frequencies in the mobile spectrum, as a spokesperson said on request.
The shutdown of 3G comes as no surprise: Sunrise’s Head of Technology Elmar Grasser announced this at the end of June in an interview with the news agency AWP. The third generation of mobile communications (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System, UMTS) was introduced in the Sunrise network around 20 years ago and is now inefficient compared to the newer 4G and 5G technologies – both in terms of the use of radio spectrum and energy consumption.
3G now only plays a marginal role in data usage. Less than 1 percent of data in the cell phone network is transmitted via 3G, explained Sunrise. 3G can also no longer keep up with voice calls in terms of stability and voice quality: The call drop rate is on average two and a half times higher than with 4G, it said. In addition, 3G mobile coverage of 89.7 percent of the Swiss territory is significantly lower than 4G coverage of 97.4 percent.
The private customers and companies affected will be informed about the 3G switch-off on an ongoing basis. This will allow them to prepare for any change of SIM cards and devices in good time, if necessary.
Sunrise is not alone in switching off 3G. Swisscom had announced the end of 3G for the end of 2025. A faster switch-off of 3G to make more space for 5G in the network is not an issue, Swisscom CEO Christoph Aeschlimann told AWP at the end of June. There are still some customers who use 3G in their devices, such as SBB or emergency call organizations.
That is why the end of 3G was deliberately announced in 2021 to give these customers four years to make the switch. “We are sticking to this schedule,” Aeschlimann said at the time. Salt has not announced a switch-off date.
©Keystone/SDA
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