Orange has completed the nationwide decommissioning of its 2G mobile network in France. The phased shutdown began in nine southwestern departments—Haute-Garonne, Landes, Gers and Pyrénées-Atlantiques—and subsequently extended across the entire country.
The operator announced in 2022 that it would systematically phase out legacy mobile technologies rather than maintain concurrent operation of successive network generations.
Enterprises relying on 2G-dependent infrastructure face immediate consequences from the shutdown. Affected equipment includes older machine-to-machine (M2M) devices, payment terminals and tracking systems. These businesses must transition their systems to function on newer network standards to prevent service interruptions.
Orange has signalled its next major infrastructure milestone: the 3G network will be retired in 2028. This represents a further stage in the company's broader shift toward 4G and 5G deployment.
Orange stated: "It is important to note that French operators (or operators operating in mainland France) are responsible for notifying their own customers: of the shutdown of the 2G/3G networks of their hosts operators and of the consequences this may have for those customers."
