Mobile communications

The 2G network is now part of Swisscom's history

After almost thirty years, the second mobile generation has finally had its day. The last GSM systems have been shut down, with the space released now being used by newer technologies.

Esther Hüsler, Media spokesperson
14 April 2021

2G was introduced by Swisscom in 1993. The technology was geared to the applications used at the time, such as making calls or sending SMS text messages. Usage habits have changed dramatically since then, with mobile data traffic has increased year-on-year. The proportion of traffic transmitted via 2G fell steadily and was less than 0.03% by the end of 2020.

In January 2021 Swisscom began to remove the last remaining 2G devices from the network, and in mid-April 2021 it finally switched off the 2G technology. Swisscom had been updating customers about the impending switch-off and supporting them with the transition to 4G-enabled devices since 2015.

Mobile telecommunications in Switzerland

New technologies for current and future needs

Swisscom will use the capacities that have now been released in the mobile network for the newer 4G and 5G technologies. These enable data to be transferred more quickly, efficiently and reliably, and telephone calls to be conducted in the best HD quality. Swisscom covers the whole of Switzerland with 3G, 4G and 5G mobile technologies, allowing customers to communicate everywhere.

More attractive technology mix for the Internet of Things

Alongside traditional data transmission, streaming and gaming, solutions for the networking of devices and machines (Internet of Things, IoT) are becoming increasingly important. Swisscom offers its customers a mix of attractive access technologies: Low Power Network as well as LTE-M and Narrow Band-IoT (NB-IoT) are both dedicated and state-of-the-art technologies based on 4G for the Internet of Things. NB-IoT is specially designed for massive IoT, and LTE-M for critical IoT.