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2G/3G Sunset: A Practical Migration Roadmap for 2026

On August 3, 2026, T-Mobile switched off its 2G GSM network. That was the last 2G network left in the United States, and with it went the fallback that thousands of IoT fleets still leaned on. Somewhere, a tracker that shipped five years ago stopped checking in.

This is not a 2028 problem. The switch-offs are happening now, market by market.

GSA counted 313 completed or planned 2G and 3G switch-offs by June 2026. A total of 139 operators in 70 markets have retired or scheduled their 2G networks, and 56 of those are already done. The 3G number is bigger: 174 operators in 67 markets, 102 finished. Europe drives 43 percent of the activity, Asia another 26 percent, and 27 operators have killed both networks at once.

The hardware market has already moved. Counterpoint’s full-year 2025 tracker put cellular IoT module shipments up 15 percent year over year, with Cat-1 bis accounting for one of every two modules shipped. That is not a niche technology anymore. It is the default.

This guide is for the buyer who has not moved yet. It covers the shutdown calendar for the markets you actually ship to, the migration options in order of cost, and the checklist items that quietly eat budgets after the hardware swap.

The calendar, market by market

Two dates in that table deserve extra attention. France: Orange is shutting 2G across the whole country between September 22 and October 20, 2026, and SFR and Bouygues follow on December 31. If you have meters or trackers in France, you are counting weeks, not quarters. Japan already closed its last 3G network on March 31, 2026, when NTT Docomo ended FOMA service for roughly 350,000 remaining users. Hong Kong switched off its final 2G network on June 23, 2026, after CMHK received the regulator’s consent.

Why Cat-1 bis is the default migration

For most fleets, the answer is not complicated: move to LTE Cat-1 bis. Single antenna, global LTE coverage, a price that sits close to what 2G modules used to cost. That is why one in two cellular IoT modules shipped in 2025 was Cat-1 bis, per Counterpoint, and why operators refarming 2G spectrum are mostly building the same LTE networks the module already talks to. Our Cat-1 bis vs RedCap comparison covers the long-term view; the short version is that Cat-1 bis carries most trackers, meters, POS terminals, wearables and two-wheeler telematics without a redesign headache.

Three cases where Cat-1 bis is the wrong answer:

• Voice matters. A data-only Cat-1 bis module will not rescue a 2G voice product. You need VoLTE, and the module has to support it with the operator’s IMS configuration. Dual-antenna Cat-1 is the safer pick for in-car telematics and other noisy RF environments.
• The device needs real throughput. Video, large firmware pushes, or a gateway role push you toward Cat-4 or 5G, not Cat-1 bis.
• The device is static and battery-critical. A water meter that wakes twice a day is better served by NB-IoT or LTE-M, and our LPWAN guide explains when each wins.

The costs nobody budgets for

The module swap is the visible cost. These are the ones that show up later.

Certification does not transfer. New radio, new CE RED, new FCC filing, and new operator lab entries if the product lives on carrier-managed fleets. Budget the certification run before you pick a module, not after.

Antennas are a second project. A 2G design tuned for 900/1800 MHz will not light up the LTE bands your markets need, often B1/B3/B5/B8/B20/B28 depending on region. The antenna, the matching network and the enclosure all get reworked, and nobody in the field cares that the module is the same size.

Voice has no fallback now. 2G and 3G voice are gone in most markets, so the product either ships with a VoLTE-capable module and the operator’s IMS settings, or it does not make calls. That is a procurement question as much as an RF one.

Field units without OTA update capability must be swapped by hand. Every unit is logistics plus labor, and the older the fleet, the harder the math.

Power is a firmware question. A “Cat-1 bis” module with PSM and eDRX disabled will drain a battery faster than the 2G design it replaces. Ask which low-power modes the firmware actually exposes before you promise a five-year battery.

Supply is tightening. 2G modules are out of production, original stock is narrowing, and refurbished parts carry their own risk. Counterpoint also flags memory shortages and price pressure running into 2026, so lead times deserve more slack than they had last year.

One more layer for multi-country fleets: eSIM and SGP.32 let you switch operators over the air instead of swapping cards in the field, which matters when a migration touches a decade of deployed hardware. Our eSIM and SGP.32 guide walks through what to check on the module itself.

Checklist before you redesign

• Pull the real dates. GSA, Onomondo and KORE all publish operator-level 2G/3G shutdown trackers. Do not rely on a country-level summary for a product that ships to five markets.
• List the LTE bands per market and check them against the module’s region variants. This kills the antenna surprise early.
• Decide the voice path. VoLTE module, operator IMS parameters, and a test call on the target network.
• Confirm low-power modes in the shipped firmware, not the datasheet.
• Scope certification per region, including carrier lab entries.
• Check supply. Original modules, EOL notices, and how many spares you need for the installed base.
• Plan the field. OTA-capable devices update; everything else needs a swap schedule and a budget.

The short version

T-Mobile closing 2G was not the end of a story. It was a notice to everyone still shipping 2G hardware. The calendar differs by market, from weeks in France to seven more years in the UK, but the direction does not: 2G and 3G spectrum becomes 4G and 5G capacity. The longer you wait, the fewer options you get, because 2G modules are out of production, original stock is shrinking, and certification queues do not shrink.

We work with the SIMCOM and Quectel LTE lines every day, including Cat-1 bis and VoLTE-capable Cat-1 parts, and we can check your target markets against the module’s band plan. Send your BOM, or just the module line you are evaluating, and we will tell you what migrates cleanly and what needs a redesign.

Send us your BOM

Sources

• GSA, “2G and 3G Switch-Off, August 2026” (https://gsacom.com/paper/2g-and-3g-switch-off-august-2026/)
• Counterpoint Research, “Global Cellular IoT Module Shipments Up 15% YoY in 2025 Driven by 4G Cat-1 bis and 5G” (https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/global-cellular-iot-module-shipments-in-2025)
• Android Authority, “T-Mobile sets an official end date for its 2G network” (https://www.androidauthority.com/t-mobile-2g-shutdown-date-3683679)
• Orange Wholesale France, “Shutdown of 2G and 3G technologies in France” (https://wholesale.orange.com/france/en/news/shutdown-of-2g-and-3g-technologies-in-france)
• House of Commons Library, “Switching off 2G and 3G in the UK” (https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9959)
• Onomondo, “2G and 3G sunsets and how to prepare” (https://onomondo.com/blog/2g-3g-sunset)
• JP Smart, “Notice of termination of 3G service” (https://jpsmart.net/blogs/news/important-notice-of-termination-of-3g-service)
• Office of the Communications Authority (Hong Kong), “Communications Authority grants consent to CMHK to cease its 2G services” (https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202512/16/P2025121600336.htm)
• Quectel, “LTE Cat 1 bis modules” (https://www.quectel.com/lte-cat-1-bis-modules)