Vodafone: 2G to be phased out by 2028 and new eCall generation

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Vodafone is retiring its 2G network and has finalized its plans to shut down the nearly 40-year-old mobile technology. The company will deactivate 2G services for residential and business customers in September 2028.

However, according to the company, Vodafone's 2G network will remain open until the end of 2030 for particularly critical IoT applications, also to ensure a smooth transition to new technologies. The frequencies used for 2G will instead be used to increase speeds on the LTE and 5G networks.

Rural expansion to take place in a timely manner

Vodafone also promises that rural areas will benefit from the end of 2G: as part of the ongoing network expansion, the last remaining network areas that are currently only covered by 2G will receive 4G or 5G coverage before 2G is phased out.

The shutdown of 2G will increase the available bandwidth for LTE and 5G in the so-called low band. According to Vodafone, this will result in a capacity gain of around ten percent. This means that more data can be transmitted simultaneously, and speeds for mobile users will increase.

Customers without 4G or 5G cell phones will have to switch

The majority of Vodafone customers already use devices that support 4G and 5G, according to Vodafone. For those who still use older cell phones or sensors, a switch to more modern devices is necessary. “In addition, the proportion of customers who make calls via LTE is continuing to rise steadily,” emphasizes Tanja Richter. Whether a cell phone supports 4G or 5G can usually be determined by looking at the display: “If the abbreviations 4G, LTE, or 5G appear there, customers do not need to take any action,” says Tanja Richter.

Solutions for industry

There are many new technologies on the market that support older IoT devices (e.g., energy meters), require low bandwidth, and are energy-efficient. Vodafone believes that by 2030, the proportion of such systems using machine networks such as CAT-M and NB-IoT will grow significantly. Technologies such as CAT-M and NB-IoT are ideal for IoT services because they offer more power and capacity than older technologies. With 5G RedCap, a new, particularly energy-efficient IoT technology based on 5G is also in the starting blocks.

New eCall generation no longer via 2G

With 2G, the basis for the current eCall generation will also disappear. This automatic emergency call technology has been providing faster assistance since 2018. According to Vodafone, the successor, “Next-Generation Emergency Call” (NG eCall), is scheduled to launch in January 2026. Vodafone is now activating the new emergency call technology at its first mobile stations for testing by the automotive industry.

Unlike the previous system, NG eCall will no longer send emergency calls via the almost 40-year-old 2G (GSM) mobile technology, explains Vodafone. The mobile provider plans to switch this off for industry and private consumers from September 2028. Instead, the voice connection will be established via the IP-based 4G (LTE) network.

Live images from the accident site also conceivable

Thanks to faster data transmission, NG eCall also offers possibilities that go beyond the previous emergency call system. According to Vodafone, it is conceivable, for example, that in the future, in addition to location and vehicle data, further information will be transmitted to the emergency call center—such as live images from the accident site or, with the appropriate authorization, the health data of the vehicle occupants. This would give emergency services an even better overview and enable them to provide more precise assistance.

Rescue workers would thus be able to obtain a comprehensive overview of the accident scene more quickly than before and could initiate rescue measures in an even more targeted manner, emphasizes Tanja Richter, Head of Technology at Vodafone. “We are now activating the mobile phone technology for this purpose in the network for the first time,” says Richter.

NG eCall in new vehicles from January 2026

From January 2026, the latest generation of emergency call systems will be mandatory in Europe for all new vehicle models to obtain approval. From January 2027, NG eCall must be installed in all new vehicles. For the new technology for vehicle emergency calls to work, mobile networks and emergency call centers must also support the system from 2026. Vodafone plans to activate NG eCall nationwide in its mobile network in January.

eCall has been mandatory in cars since 2018

The current generation of eCall has been mandatory in all new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles throughout the EU since 2018. The system shortens the response times of emergency services in traffic accidents by automatically establishing a telephone connection to the 112 emergency number in the event of a serious accident and transmitting important information such as the location of the accident. Emergency calls are made via the 2G (GSM) and 3G (UMTS) mobile networks. German telecommunications providers switched off the 3G networks in 2021.

2G to be phased out at Vodafone as early as 2028

Vodafone has finalized its plans to switch off 2G: Vodafone plans to deactivate 2G services for private and business customers as early as September 2028. For particularly critical IoT applications such as eCall, Vodafone's 2G network will remain open until the end of 2030 to ensure a smooth transition to new technologies. The freed-up 2G capacity will be used to further improve Vodafone's LTE and 5G networks.

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