Airtel Lanka, Bharti Airtel’s telecom arm in Sri Lanka, is reportedly shutting down 3G networks in the country. The change will come into effect on June 24, 2022. This will free up a lot of spectrum for the telco to offer better 4G services to the customers in Sri Lanka. According to a Developing Telecoms report, the Telecommunications Regulator Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has given Airtel Lanka the clearance to shut down 3G networks and utilise the freed-up spectrum for 4G operations.
Airtel Lanka Needs to Take Care of One Major Thing While Shutting Down 3G
The telecom regulatory body has asked Airtel Lanka to ensure that it absorbs at least 90% of the 3G customers into its 4G user base while in the process of shutting down 3G. The telco has over 15 months to complete the process.
This means that people who were still using handsets which supported connectivity with legacy networks will not have any other option but to upgrade to 4G for better data services. Further, the telco has been obliged to raise awareness about the shutting down of the network so that people have enough time to plan their upgrades.
As per the report, Airtel must take measures to ensure that its 3G customer base is also getting access to 4G handsets with subsidies and other things such as easy payments via instalments. Further, Airtel Lanka must also notify its customers about the shutting down of the 3G networks by SMS and ask them to upgrade to a 4G phone before the deadline.
Airtel has also shut down 3G in India in major places such as Punjab, Kolkata, Haryana, and Kerala. However, Airtel, along with Vodafone Idea, continue to offer 2G network services to hundreds of millions of customers in India. The 2G networks are likely not going to go from the country any time soon as there are a lot of people who are dependent on them for making calls.
