Network operators all over the world are letting go of GSM

folarin okunola

August 7, 2015 4:34 PM

The end of GSM will free up more bandwidth for faster 3G and 4G network technologies—but will also force users of older devices that depend on GSM networks to upgrade or replace them.

Without GSM networks, 3G and 4G will have more bandwidth to deliver better service

Carriers around the world are planning on 2017 as the year to turn off their GSM networks, with three operators in Singapore announcing their plans to reuse their GSM spectrum for other services on Monday.

According to PC World, the end of GSM will free up more bandwidth for faster 3G and 4G network technologies—but will also force users of older devices that depend on GSM networks to upgrade or replace them.

Singaporean operators M1, Singtel and StarHub have become the latest operators to set a timetable for turning off their GSM networks with April 1, 2017 set as the desired date. The move follows in the footsteps of Telstra in Australia, which plans to do so by the end of 2016, and AT&T in the U.S, which will turn off its GSM platform on Jan. 1, 2017.

For a lot of mobile phone users, the switch-off of the GSM network could pass almost unnoticed and that's because the majority of mobile customers have phones that also connect to 3G and 4G networks with only a small percentage of subscribers still using GSM-only phones.

PC World reports that when Telstra made its announcement last year, it said GSM accounted for less than 1 percent of the total traffic.

All over the world, the reasons for turning off GSM networks are both technical and financial. Turning them off means the spectrum can be reused by more efficient 3G and 4G networks, which can use the same bandwidth to carry more data or serve more customers — and hence generate more revenue.

One less network to manage should also result in lower costs for operators.

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folarin okunola