Freeing up the spectrum to cater for faster access and increasing data demand, Singapore will probably be the first country to pull the plug on the earliest mobile phone broadcasting technology, 2G. The second generation that kept millions of Nokia phones (remember the 6210?).

There are still many who are still on the old spectrum, with just making phone calls and receiving text messages, mostly immigrant workers buying cheap 2G phones for its straight forward purpose. But come 1 April 2017, the 2G network across all telcos in Singapore will gradually be closed.Forcefully everyone will have to transit over to either 3G or 4G and invest in new handsets. Telco operators have also stopped selling 2G simcard since November last year, and all those who have been using older 2G sims before will not be able to receive signals come April 1st.

Malaysians on 2G handsets will not be able to roam in Singapore come the deadline, so do bring a newer edition if you plan to visit the neighbouring country. Looks like the trend will move towards this process, as governments seek to free up spectrum’s as telecommunication demand transforms.