The 2G/3G sunset: where are we, and what about 4G?

The 2G/3G sunset is well underway with legacy signals long switched off in many countries in the world. It’s reshaping IoT connectivity across markets, operators, and device fleets… but the sunset has been uneven.

While some countries have fully switched off older networks, others are still keeping 2G alive for legacy devices. The bigger question for IoT owners is how to migrate without disruption, and whether 4G is the next layer to watch.

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What is the 2G/3G sunset?

The 2G/3G sunset is the gradual shutdown of older mobile networks as operators refarm spectrum and shift users onto 4G and 5G. In practice, it means legacy devices that still rely on 2G or 3G may lose connectivity as those networks are switched off country by country.

It’s worth noting that the sunset is not a single global deadline affecting your global IoT platform. It is a rolling process shaped by local operator plans, spectrum policy, and the availability of replacement technologies such as LTE-M, NB-IoT, and LTE Cat 1bis.

For IoT fleets, this matters because many deployments were designed for long lifecycles, but the mobile networks they depend on are being retired sooner than the devices themselves. That can affect everything from trackers and payment terminals to meters, alarms, and industrial sensors.

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How far has the sunset progressed?

The shutdown has moved a long way, but it is uneven. Some countries completed a 2G sunset before 3G, while others have shut down 3G first and left 2G running longer for legacy and IoT use cases. That order matters because many IoT fleets still depend on 2G as a low-cost fallback, so a market can be “advanced” in its sunset journey without having fully eliminated 2G yet.

In practice, 3G has been the first network to disappear in many places, but 2G often lingers because it supports older devices, machine-to-machine links, and embedded modules that are expensive or difficult to replace. Some operators have therefore been cautious about switching off 2G too quickly, especially where they know a meaningful installed base of IoT hardware still depends on it.

That reluctance is part technical and part commercial: 2G remains “good enough” for many low-bandwidth IoT applications, and operators may prefer to keep it active until device migration is far enough along to avoid service disruption. 

So when you look at sunset progress, the real question is not just whether 2G or 3G is gone, but which of the two was retired first, and how much IoT dependency still remains on the older layer.

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Which countries and operators have already switched off?

A growing list of countries has already completed 2G and/or 3G shutdowns, but the exact pattern varies by market. TeleGeography’s 2025 tracker shows 19 countries had fully dropped 2G by February 2025, while more than 30 countries were expected to have fully closed 3G by the end of 2025

For 2G, some of the earliest full national shutdowns included Japan, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the UAE, Vietnam, Trinidad and Tobago, Monaco, and Jamaica. TeleGeography also notes that several more markets were expected to finish 2G by the end of 2025.

For 3G, the first nationwide shutdowns included Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Australia, Oman, and Macau. TeleGeography says that more countries were queued up for the rest of 2025, including the U.K., Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, New Zealand, China, Kuwait, and Qatar. 

That makes 3G the more widely retired network overall, even though 2G remains active in some places because IoT users still rely on it.

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What should IoT fleet owners do with 2G/3G devices?

Owners of affected fleets usually have three main options: replace the device, retrofit it with a compatible module, or keep it running only where the remaining network coverage and operator roadmap make that safe. 

The right choice depends on device age, deployment scale, power constraints, roaming needs, and how long the hardware still has to stay in service.

The most straightforward path is full replacement with hardware built for current networks, especially if the existing device is already near end of life or hard to support. For fleets that still have useful hardware, a retrofit can work if the form factor, certification, and power profile allow a move to LTE-M, NB-IoT, or LTE Cat 1bis without redesigning the whole product.

For some deployments, the best answer is to stagger migration rather than do everything at once. A final option is to keep 2G devices in service temporarily, but only as a short-term bridge. 

That is sometimes necessary because 2G still supports many low-bandwidth IoT applications, yet it is risky to treat it as a long-term strategy when operator plans can change quickly and country timelines differ. In many markets, 2G is going to continue as a viable option for quite some time.

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Is there an imminent risk of 4G signals shutting down?

Not broadly, no: there is no sign of an imminent, industry-wide 4G shutdown, and most carriers are still using LTE as an essential part of their network mix. 

That said, the main caveat is that some operators are already talking about re-farming LTE spectrum toward 5G, which can gradually shrink 4G capacity before any full shutdown happens.

The clearest near-term example is T-Mobile in the U.S., where reports say it may start limiting new LTE activations in 2026 and progressively reduce LTE over time, while keeping a minimal slice of service for legacy devices and IoT well into the 2030s. 

Even there, the company has said a full LTE shutdown is still “years and years” away, so this is more a managed transition than an abrupt switch-off.

For IoT fleets, the practical takeaway is that 4G is not the sunset to panic about yet, but it is also not something to assume will stay unchanged forever. Fleet owners should treat LTE as a long-term dependency that still needs monitoring, especially in markets where operators may narrow capacity or prioritize 5G migration first.

As always, choosing the best multi network SIM for IoT connectivity will set you up for success; contact GigSky Business now to see how we support IoT across the globe with our SuperSIM.

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