Smooth 3G Shutdown

As the world steadily marches toward the era of 5G, the need to phase out older technologies like 3G becomes increasingly urgent to reduce the associated CAPEX and OPEX. However, this transition is fraught with challenges, the primary one being how to shift traffic from 3G to 4G without causing degradation in service quality and end-user experience. Only then 3G can be shut down safely. 

Our long-term client, a Tier-1 mobile operator, recognized this problem and embarked together with Aspire on a mission to find a viable solution. Aspire’s approach involved rigorous testing of new mobility parameters and implementing a new strategy to migrate the traffic from 3G to 4G. The activities included changes to extend the coverage of the 800MHz LTE band, efficiently redistribute data and voice traffic across various LTE layers, and offload LTE800 (10MHz) as the main layer for coverage to LTE2100 (15MHz) and LTE2600 (20MHz). 

The implementation of Aspire’s recommendations delivered an array of benefits for both the operator and its end-users: 

• L800 Throughput Improvement 
• 4G Data Traffic Increase 
• 4G Voice Traffic Increase 
• 2G and 3G Voice Traffic Decrease 

Our journey doesn’t stop here. The next steps involve testing a new set of parameters to further increase 4G coverage. This forward-thinking approach maximizes our clients network assets and ensures a well-optimized network, efficient use of available spectrum and resources, while enhancing the overall user experience. 

Remarkably, 3G was already shutdown in several cities and towns without customer complaints, which is a testament of the rigorous preparation done. 

We are thankful for the opportunity to work with our client and continuously evolve their network and services to reduce spending on legacy technologies. As always, both Aspire and the client’s teams ensure the project’s success and 3G is planned to be sunset across whole network by early 2024.  

We are looking forward to support other clients across the Globe in such network efficiency projects and provide our experience and dedication to evolve their networks.