South Africa's 2G and 3G switch-off: what happens to your connected devices

South Africa is switching off its 2G and 3G networks, and most of the public conversation is about phones. Phones are the easy part. People replace them every few years, and an owner notices the day theirs stops working. The hard part is the machines: vehicle trackers, alarm communicators, smart meters, card machines and telemetry units that were installed years ago, run unattended, and were never meant to be thought about again.

The dates

The national spectrum policy gazetted in 2024 set out the sequence. Type approval for new 2G-only and 3G-only devices ended on 30 September 2024. Activating them on the networks was barred from 31 December 2024. Switch-off could begin from 1 June 2025, and both networks must be off by 31 December 2027 (Connecting Africa).

Operators can move faster than the national deadline, and some are. MTN began with a pilot in Cape Town suburbs and said in early 2025 that it aimed to finish its 3G phase-out towards the end of 2026 (Telecom Review Africa). So plan to your network's dates in the areas where your devices sit. They can arrive area by area, and well before 2027.

One consequence is easy to miss. A cupboard of spare 3G units is no longer a spares strategy, because the policy bars activating 2G-only and 3G-only devices.

What still runs on 2G and 3G

The policy itself names some of it: vehicle tracking, point-of-sale devices, private alarm systems and smart meters, along with legacy emergency services. Add GSM gate openers, borehole and reservoir monitors, cold-chain loggers, lift and plant telemetry, and anything else with a SIM that was designed when 2G was the cheapest way to send a few bytes.

These devices share three habits that make them hard to move. Nobody knows exactly where they all are. Nobody knows which modem is inside, because the people who chose it have moved on. And every one of them was installed by someone who had to drive there, which is what it will take to replace it.

Find out what you have

Start with the SIMs, because the SIM bill is the one record that is always up to date. Ask your connectivity provider whether it can report which of your SIMs last attached on 2G or 3G. Match those SIMs to devices and sites. For devices you can reach remotely, the modem will report the network technology it is using and its own model number if the firmware asks. For the rest, the model on the label or in the original bill of materials tells you whether the device can use 4G at all.

Then sort the fleet into three piles. Devices with a 4G modem that prefer 2G or 3G need a settings change and a coverage check. Devices with a 4G-capable modem and old firmware need a firmware update. Devices that are 2G-only or 3G-only need new hardware.

The options for 2G-only and 3G-only devices

Swap the communications board. If the enclosure, sensors and power supply are sound, a new board with an LTE-M, NB-IoT or LTE Cat 1 bis modem can often go into the same box. The firmware changes more than the hardware: a new modem has a different command set, different power behaviour and different antenna needs, and it has to be tested on the networks where the devices live. Radio equipment used in South Africa needs ICASA type approval, so check the approval status of the new modem and the finished device early.

Replace the device. When the hardware is old, undocumented or failing anyway, a new device can cost less over its life than a retrofit, especially if the new one can be updated remotely.

Use a gateway. When devices sit close together on one site, estate or farm, and you are replacing their radios anyway, they can talk over a local network such as LoRaWAN to one 4G gateway. Next time the cellular network changes, one unit needs attention instead of fifty.

Do it once, properly

A switch-off forces you to touch every device, which makes it the cheapest moment you will get to fix everything else that is wrong with a fleet. If you are replacing the modem anyway, add over-the-air firmware updates, so the next change does not need a visit. Add a heartbeat and basic diagnostics, so you know which units are alive without waiting for a customer to tell you. Consider an eSIM that can change network profile remotely if your devices will outlive their current connectivity contract. And write down what is installed where, because there will be another sunset.

Plan backwards from your network's date

Find out when your network switches off in the areas where your devices are installed, and work back from the earliest date. Leave time for type approval and stock, which is where hardware projects lose months. Pilot the replacement on a handful of units in the field before ordering the rest, because a new modem behaves differently in a basement than on a bench. Then roll out in waves, earliest switch-off areas first, and keep a list of every unit that has not reported since its swap.

If you have devices on 2G or 3G and want a second opinion on what to do with them, send us a brief, or write to hello@handee.co.za.