According to the official notice on 3G service retirement released by Zhejiang Unicom, starting June 15, the provincial carrier’s 3G network will completely shut down. What does that actually mean? If you’re still rocking an older handset that only connects to 3G, along with its matching plan and SIM card, voice calls and mobile data access will simply stop working.
The notice makes it pretty clear: everyone impacted should upgrade their devices, switch plans, and migrate services without delay.
Over the past few years, thanks to the explosive growth of China’s ICT sector, we’ve watched 3G and 2G networks slowly fade into history.
Looking at the bigger picture behind this rollout, MIIT’s “14th Five-Year Plan” for information and communications technology explicitly pushes for faster 3G retirements while coordinating 4G and 5G development. On top of that, guidelines from the Central Committee emphasize upgrading traditional infrastructure through digital-intelligent transformations to solidify the foundation for our digital economy.
To free up spectrum, boost overall performance, and align with national strategy, Zhejiang Unicom began winding down its 3G operations back in 2023. Right now, their 4G and 5G footprint covers every corner of the province, rural and urban alike. Network capacity and service quality keep getting sharper, easily handling whatever communication tasks you throw at them.
Aheads of this, in December 2025, China Mobile dropped a formal notice about 2G spectrum expiration, confirming a full retirement of the 2G network. Their statement explained that updated radio frequency licenses granted by MIIT set a hard cutoff date: 2G systems operating on 900MHz and 1800MHz bands would lose authorization by December 31, 2025, leaving 2G devices unsupported. Around the same time, the carrier rolled out migration paths to NB/IoT, 4G, and 5G, alongside specialized IoT module support.
Back in December 2023, when addressing public concerns about keeping basic connectivity alive for owners of older phones, MIIT stressed that phasing out 2G/3G is an unavoidable step in telecom evolution. They also pointed out that carriers need to handle user transitions smoothly, ensuring nobody gets left in the cold.
Take a look worldwide: by December 31, 2022, U.S. telecom giant Verizon flipped the switch on its 3G network. Suddenly, 2G/3G was basically a ghost in the States. AT&T shut down 3G that same year, having already retired 2G, while T-Mobile phased out inherited 3G networks from the Sprint merger before killing off their own legacy system.
U.S. carriers are just one piece of the puzzle. With 5G rolling out fast, dozens of countries have already pulled the plug on 2G/3G. According to GSA reports, by October 2022, 142 operators across 56 markets had either wrapped up, planned, or were actively retiring their legacy networks.
As legacy networks drop off the map, China is doubling down on 5G adoption. Fresh numbers from the big three telecom providers show something impressive: by the end of March 2026, combined 5G subscribers have officially smashed past the 1.2 billion mark.
Looking closer: by the end of Q1 2026, China Mobile’s total subscriber pool reached 1.009 billion, with 668 million riding on 5G—solidly leading the pack. The company added about 26 million new 5G users this quarter alone, bumping penetration to roughly 66.2%. To put that momentum in perspective, the count was sitting at 642 million as of late 2025.
Unicom’s Q1 earnings tell a similar story: cumulative 5G subscribers hit 242 million by quarter’s end. That’s a jump of roughly 9.82 million in just three months, driving 5G penetration to a whopping 80.1% (calculated against total mobile users). Meanwhile, China Telecom’s records show 314.13 million 5G subscribers as of the same timeframe, boasting an impressive penetration rate of 71.3%.
According to Unicom’s quarterly report dropped on April 22, total operating revenue for the quarter clocked in at 102.824 billion yuan. That’s a slight dip of 530 million versus the same timeframe last year, reflecting a 0.51% annual decline. As for net profit, it landed at 2.137 billion yuan, missing last year’s figure by 469 million and slipping 17.99%.
The bigger takeaway? We’ve already built the world’s largest and most advanced telecom infrastructure, hitting the milestone of “gigabit access in every county, 5G coverage in every township.” By year-end 2025, national fiber optic cables stretched over 74.99 million kilometers—that’s nearly a hundred round trips to the moon! Looking ahead, 6G is stealing the spotlight as a forward-looking pillar for the “15th Five-Year Plan.” Following telecom history’s typical decade-long upgrade cycle, commercial 6G rolls should kick off around 2030. By 2035, experts predict we’ll be looking at a trillion-yuan ecosystem spanning next-gen apps and industrial solutions.
