Estonia telco Elisa has completed the switch off of its 3G network in the country.
Elisa finalized the retirement of its 3G network in Tallinn, the country's capital, yesterday (November 25).
The carrier has followed rival telco Telia, which shut down its 3G network last year.
Elisa will instead focus its network investment on its 4G and 5G networks, while its 2G network remains in operation.
Elisa has gradually completed its 3G shutdown in Estonia since the start of the year, recently turning off the service in Tartu and Parnu counties.
“The frequency resources and hardware occupied by the 3G network today can be used for 4G and 5G networks in the future,” said Toomas Polli, head of the technology unit at Elisa Estonia earlier this year.
“Frequency volumes are a limited asset and prioritizing newer technologies to keep up with the times and customer expectations is the right choice.”
Elisa Estonia, which is a subsidiary of Finnish telco Elisa, first launched its 3G network back in 2006.
When the company launched its service, it boasted of data speeds of up to 1Mbps.
Several mobile carriers have shut off their 3G networks this year, including both Vodafone and EE in the UK, plus Australian carriers Telstra and Optus.
The legacy technology is less energy efficient than the more recent mobile generations, despite accounting for significantly less traffic.
