Telecom Argentina has started the shutdown of its aging copper network.

The company's CTO Miguel Hernández revealed the update during the International Technology Seminar last week.

No timeline has been given for the full switch-off as of yet.

TeleSemana reports that the operator has begun to turn off the copper exchanges that covered areas with services that had already been migrated to fiber optics, with this mainly being carried out in the north of the country.

Telegeography notes that the operator had a total of three million fixed voice subscriptions at the end of last year, of which 1.9m were connected via PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network) infrastructure.

PSTN services are in the process of being phased out or have been switched off in many countries in favor of fiber optic services instead, with the UK on course to close its PSTN in December 2025.

The operator's copper switch-off coincides with the upgrade of its 5G network, with Telecom Argentina aiming to have the core of its 5G network ready in 2024, with Huawei providing 70 percent of the kit and Nokia supplying the remainder.

Telekom Argentina launched its Non-standalone 5G service at the beginning of 2021.