MTN South Africa Plans Sunset of 2G and 3G Networks

The 2G and 3G networks of MTN South Africa will be shut down gradually in phased approaches. By the end of 2026, it intends to shut down its 3G network, and by the end of 2029, its 2G network.

A formal deadline for sunsetting the networks will no longer be enforced, according to a recent confirmation from the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. Rather, it will allow cell providers to take the initiative.

At the end of 2026, 3G is scheduled to go down. MTN South Africa informed MyBroadband that the company’s user migrations to 4G voice over LTE are ahead of schedule. 

Since we anticipate that it will take longer to convert legacy devices that rely on 2G services, the migration is scheduled in phases over a three-year period following the 3G shutdown.

In order to ease the transition from 3G to 4G and 5G, the mobile network operator (MNO) conducts consumer and business education initiatives. These efforts consist of direct outreach, staff training, and SMSes.

Additionally, it stated that MTN recently introduced the Smartphone For All campaign, which aims to transition 3G users to 4G.

Mondli Gungubele, the current deputy and former minister of communications, had already set a revised date of December 2027 for shutting down both legacy networks.

Industry participants reacted negatively to him, fearing that many South Africans especially would become disconnected if the networks were shut down too soon.

Nonetheless, the government acknowledged that there was no longer a predetermined date for sunsetting the networks in a recent presentation to Parliament.

According to Ndinannyi Libago, acting deputy director-general of the communications department, the department will keep an eye on when mobile networks go down.

He informed Parliament that “we will work with the MNOs in terms of this sun-setting.”

To find out which 2G or 3G sites they are shutting down, we examine their deployment plans. The MTNOs are necessary for this. Therefore, we labelled it as monitoring.

With the recent introduction of its Smartphone For All campaign, in which MTN stated the price of its Smartphones from MTN cost R99, (approximately $5.51), MTN intends to provide 1.2 million prepaid customers and users with reasonably priced 4G smartphones.

To guarantee that consumers are not left behind when the nation’s 2G and 3G networks are turned down, MTN and Smartphone For All Pty Limited announced the program in May 2025.

Due to the enormous demand for the reasonably priced smartphones, MTN South Africa told MyBroadband that it is expanding the number of outlets where it sells them.

“The initiative’s first phase was only implemented in a small number of Gauteng stores, but we had to speed up and broaden the list of participating stores because of the tremendous response,” the statement read. 

A 4G-enabled Itel AC51 smartphone was made available to 5,000 chosen prepaid customers by the mobile provider in phase one for a one-time charge of R99 (approximately $5.51).

Later, it was discovered that the R99 (approximately $5.51) price meant that eligible buyers paid R650 (approximately $36.20) less than the R749 (approximately $41.73) suggested retail price for the gadget. The following are the basic specifications of the AC51:

• OS — Android 14 Go
• Display — 5-inch 854 x 480-pixel LCD
• Cameras — 5MP rear and 2MP selfie camera
• Battery — 2,050mAh
• Cellular connectivity — 4G (Dual SIM)

“MTN South Africa will distribute various devices, including Itel, in the next batch (phases 2 and 3),” MTN stated.

“With the exception of a one-time R99 (approximately $5.51) fee, MTN and the consumer incur no costs. Due to courier fees, call center expenses, marketing, and incentives, MTN SA is spending between R150 (approximately $8.36) and R190 (approximately $10.59) per device on operations.

MTN will provide 4G handsets from multiple manufacturers to 130,000 prepaid consumers in the second phase, and an additional 1.1 million subscribers in the third.

Customers will be able to access a variety of digital tools and services because the smartphones will come preinstalled with a number of well-known applications.

Through initiatives like the Smartphone For All campaign, MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi stated that the firm must actively work to connect as many South Africans as possible.

In keeping with these advancements, Minister Malatsi indicated interest in collaborating with the National Treasury to remove ad valorem taxes on entry-level smartphones, thereby lowering their costs. He explained that setting a certain threshold would be advantageous, even though the elimination of all taxes on luxury products on smart devices is not being suggested.