Jio says Centre should devise policy to shut down 2G; Vodafone Idea seeks migration of users to 4G/5G

NEW DELHI: India’s top telecom operator has urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to push the Central government to devise a policy for shutting down legacy 2G and 3G technology in India so that unnecessary network costs can be avoided and all customers be migrated to the newer 4G and 5G mobile networks.

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has backed Jio’s views and suggested that the government can tap the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) to finance a smartphone subsidy scheme so that the rural masses – who cannot afford a modern handset – can also upgrade to newer technologies like 5G.