PLDT-Smart to sunset 3G in 2023

PLDT Inc. head of network operations Mario Tamayo has said that the company plans to sunset its 3G network next year so that it can better utilise its frequencies for faster 4G technologies. In an investor briefing yesterday (4 August), Tamayo noted that the group has been investing heavily in its networks while accelerating the migration of customers from 2G or 3G to 4G or 5G-ready SIMs. Echoing Tamayo, the president and CEO of PLDT’s Smart Communications mobile division, Alfredo Panlilio, noted that ‘only 4% of subscribers are currently on 3G’ and that whilst the shift to 4G should be ‘easier’ the operator likely faces a big challenge to bring 2G users to 4G.