SINGAPORE, July 28 — With 3G telco services set to shut down in July 2024, the clock is ticking for some 100,000 users still subscribed to legacy phone plans to upgrade to 4G or 5G plans.
But many of these users are migrant workers and the low-income who might not be able to afford upgrading their phones and plans, said sociologists, non-governmental organisations and mobile phone shop owners. They also urged telcos to do more to help such users with the transition.
There are approximately 109,000 3G pre-paid and post-paid subscriptions in April 2023, according to statistics published on the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) website.
This makes up approximately one per cent of the total mobile subscriptions, the authority said in a statement on Wednesday (July 26), adding that the 3G mobile subscriber base “is on the decline”.
“When the 3G networks retire, more spectrum can…
