Vodafone Continues Preparations to Switch Off German 2G

Vodafone Germany announced a timeline to switch off 2G in its German network. Their business customers and consumers will lose access in September 2028.

Despite that, the network is set to remain active until the end of 2030 to support some IoT applications. The operator estimates that switching off the legacy network and reallocating the low-band spectrum it uses will lead to capacity gains of around 10% for 4G and 5G.

In its statement, Vodafone positioned the move as a positive for users, emphasising it would ensure rural areas currently only covered by 2G would have access to newer technologies by its switch-off date. The stay of execution for IoT was primarily implemented for critical applications reliant on the network to ensure a smooth transition.

The operator added that there are many new technologies on the market that support older IoT devices, citing energy meters as an example. “By 2030, the share of such solutions using machine networks such as CAT-M and NB-IoT will grow sharply”, Vodafone stated, adding that the technologies are predestined for IoT services because they have more power and capacity than older technologies. “With 5G RedCap, a new, particularly energy-efficient IoT technology based on 5G is also in the starting blocks.”

Alongside announcing the 2G sunset timeline, Vodafone detailed a plan to launch Next Generation Emergency Call (NG eCall) for vehicles in January 2026. It is the successor to a system reliant on 2G and uses 4G to make a voice call in the event of an accident.

The system is set to become mandatory for new vehicles in Europe from 2027, with operator networks and emergency call centres required to support it in 2026. Vodafone Germany CTO Tanja Richter said the system could allow emergency services to receive a comprehensive overview of the accident situation more quickly than before to initiate rescue measures in an even more targeted manner.