The operation of 2G networks in the Czech Republic: the current situation and next steps
General information on 2G networks
Publicly available mobile electronic communications services are provided via mobile networks, which in the Czech Republic are operated by O2 Czech Republic a.s., T-Mobile Czech Republic a.s. and Vodafone Czech Republic a.s. (hereinafter referred to as ‘mobile operators’). The first digital mobile networks are known as second-generation networks (hereinafter also referred to as ‘GSM or 2G’) and were designed primarily to provide voice services and, later, to send short SMS messages or provide low-speed EDGE internet access. They therefore utilised narrow transmission channels with a bandwidth of 200 kHz.
As a result of the development of the internet and increasing demands on the transmission capacity of mobile networks, mobile operators acquired further bands of the radio spectrum for the operation of their networks, in which they deployed more modern and spectrally efficient technologies.
Gradual deployment of advanced generation networks and phasing out of older technologies
This has led to the gradual deployment of Generation 3 technologies, followed by Generations 4 and 5. In order to expand, upgrade or adapt their networks to the ever-increasing demands of their customers, mobile operators need to decide for themselves which technologies to use in specific locations. Mobile operators use parts of the radio spectrum identified in a harmonised way for the operation of mobile networks on the basis of radio frequencies allocations that are in line with the principles of the European Union for the above reason technologically neutral. As a result, mobile operators are generally under no obligation as to the technology used, and decisions to switch to new generations of mobile technology, or decisions to terminate the use of an already inefficient technology, are usually based on information about which terminals their customers use.
The phasing out of generation 2 mobile networks is not a specific feature of the Czech Republic. A similar process is also underway in other European countries, with some countries or mobile operators having already closed 2G networks. The released radio frequencies can subsequently be used more efficiently, in particular for developing 4th and 5th generation networks and ensuring sufficient capacity for the growing volume of mobile data traffic.
Thus, in the Czech Republic, the use of 3rd generation technology has already been terminated in recent years and mobile operators have replaced this technology with more modern and efficient technologies. Current mobile network transmission capacity requirements, and in particular those for the provision of high-speed internet access services, require the use of very broad transmission channels and thus the use of higher generations of mobile technology that allow the use of transmission channels with a bandwidth equivalent to multiples of 5 MHz. Future planned mobile networks should allow for transmission channels with a bandwidth of hundreds of MHz, which requires 5th generation deployment, mainly in the form of Stand Alone ‘SA’ solutions, or a higher generation.
Why 2G networks are still in use
Although the provision of the voice service is also gradually migrating to an internet platform, a significant number of customers still use terminals exclusively with GSM technology, which serve both to provide the voice service and to transmit simple messages or information on the status of a device. This is the case, for example, in the area of signalling systems, remote readings or building technology (lifts, water meters, etc.). Users of older mobile phones should not be forgotten either.
How the CTU ensures the maintenance of 2G operations for a sufficient period of time
Aware that in some cases it may be difficult to replace applications using these historically implemented services in the short term, the Office, following the discontinuation of 3G mobile networks, imposed on mobile operators, as part of the renewal of the relevant radio frequency allocations, an obligation concerning the minimum period of time for which the operation of 2G mobile networks must be maintained.
Therefore, mobile operators have an obligation to operate 2G networks until at least the end of June 2028 in the radio frequency allocations for the use of the 2 100 MHz band granted to them by the Office over the period 2021-2022, unless the analysis confirms the negligible demand for GSM services at an earlier date.
The Office considers the share of end-users using GSM retail services below 5 % of all end-users using mobile retail services in the Czech Republic to be negligible demand. However, in view of the current share of customers and its evolution to date, the Office does not envisage an earlier closure of 2G networks on the basis of this provision on the date of publication of this information.
At the same time, the Office is conducting discussions with mobile operators on further developments to ensure that any future changes take place in a predictable manner and well in advance for all actors concerned. In this respect, it therefore plans to set the conditions for coordinated action in the 2G shutdown process with a sufficiently long preparatory phase in the new frequency allocations being prepared for the 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz bands.
The CTU’s plans regarding the future switch-off of 2G
The CTU’s aim is, in cooperation with mobile operators and the parties concerned, to ensure that the switch-off of 2G networks in the Czech Republic takes place in a coordinated manner. At the same time, the needs of both consumers still using older terminal equipments and the operators of industrial and other solutions that currently rely on 2G network services will be respected to the greatest extent possible.