https://www.telecompaper.com/news/telef ... 1--1362442
Telefonica Germany said it is upgrading 18,000 mobile sites with 3G technology to 4G, a year faster than planned. Most of the technological improvements will take place in the second half of 2021, in preparation for the shutdown of its 3G network by the end of 2021.
The operator wants to accelerate the shutdown of 3G by a year, to support the rollout of 4G and 5G networks using the additional spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band. The frequencies have been used for 3G to date. By converting 3G technology to 4G or 5G, Telefonica also will reduce power consumption by up to 90 percent per transported byte.
The company said that over 97 percent of its 44 million customers use mobile data with a 4G-enabled device. The 2G network remains for basic M2M connections and voice and SMS services.
Vodafone Germany and Deutsche Telekom also plan to shut down their 3G networks in 2021.