Beeline will disconnect Moscow from 3G

By September Beeline refuse from 3G in Moscow and Moscow region. The 2.1 GHz frequency occupied by it will be used for LTE, and 3G will remain only in the lowest range of 900 MHz - it is only suitable for voice communications. In order for the smartphone to work correctly and not cling to this band, you will need to select LTE as a priority network in the settings.

This is a forced measure due to a shortage in the industry. Equipment suppliers are leaving the Russian market, so operators have to cut networks for service. The operator himself claims that the demand for 3G in Moscow and the Moscow region is falling: in 2022, it accounts for 4% of the total traffic.

By the end of 2023, 3G will be abandoned in another 25 regions of Russia. At the same time, GSM networks will be left in order to maintain access to voice communications in separate places.

According to the CEO of TelecomDaily Denis Kuskov, in the Moscow region there are less than 3% of smartphones that support only 3G networks. In this case, we are usually talking about second phones: if you take into account the main and regularly used devices, you get only 1%. In other regions, LTE is not available on 5% of active smartphones.

Kuskov also notes that in the future, 2.1 GHz networks can be transferred to 5G. This is the second most popular band for 5G after 3.5-3.8 GHz, which is occupied by special services in Russia.