Beeline will refuse 3G communications in Moscow and Moscow region by autumn

The press service of Beeline reported that the abandonment of the 3G standard in Moscow and the Moscow region will be completed by September 2022. The frequencies used for 3G in the 2.1 GHz band will be reconnected to LTE (4G) technology. The company noted that in Moscow this transition has already been made.

“Beeline was the first in Russia to transfer UMTS 2100 to LTE from 3G in Moscow and plans to complete this process by September in the Moscow region,” the Beeline press service said ( TASS quote ).

The company added that the share of 3G traffic in the Moscow region was gradually decreasing, and in 2022 it amounted to 4%. The operator's management plans to invest in the construction of new base stations of the LTE standard, which also support operation in the 5G standard if the necessary frequencies are allocated.

“So, for example, over the past two years (2020 and 2021), 3.5 times more LTE base stations were built than 3G,” Beeline said.

The company added that they plan to refarming the 2.1 GHz band in other regions of the Russian Federation. Thus, owners of devices that support only the 3G standard will soon have to change the device to a more modern one. At the same time, the 2G standard will remain unchanged.