2degrees has confirmed that it will begin its 3G switch-off from December 14 in New Zealand.
As reported by The New Zealand Herald, the carrier will begin the retirement of its legacy network by switching off 3G at 100 rural cell towers.
Those towers have all been upgraded to 4G, the company told the Herald, while confirming that 2degrees will fully switch off its 3G network by "early 2026."
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“3G usage on RCG sites is actually rather small, with most people connecting via 4G so the impact to anyone still using 3G to connect in those areas is likely to be minimal," said Mark Callander, CEO, 2degrees.
"We have been urging customers to get ready for this shutdown, and the time to take action is now,"
2degrees previously outlined plans more than two years ago to switch off its 3G service this year. 2degrees launched its 3G service in 2010.
Elsewhere, One NZ also revealed its plans to switch off 3G this week, noting that it will begin this switch-off on January 20, 2026, in Dunedin, ahead of a full shutdown by March 31, 2026.
The telco previously planned to retire the service in March of this year, after delaying it from an initial shutdown date of August 2024.
Earlier this summer, Spark NZ extended its 3G shutdown date until March, and will also call time on the service on March 31, 2026.
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