Response to interpellation 2023/24:697 on consequences of switching off mobile networks with 2G and 3G technology
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns the consequences of the shutdown of 2G and 3G networks. KD argues that it is the mobile operators' responsibility to inform users and manage consequences since the license conditions are technology-neutral 1. KD emphasizes that the shutdown is the operators' decision to replace the technology with 5G 2 3. KD believes that they have had five years to prepare and that the municipalities are responsible for budgeting 3. KD looks forward to the 5G rollout for competitiveness and welfare 4. S argues that a consequence analysis of risks to life, health, and property is missing 5 6. S believes that the transition is hasty and that a part of the 2G network should be kept running 5 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Adrian Magnusson has asked me if I can guarantee that there is a consequence analysis ensuring that the current technological shift does not result in individuals, public activities, or companies being exposed to unnecessary risks when Sweden becomes the first of all EU countries to decommission the 2G and 3G networks as early as next year.
The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) issues permits for the use of radio frequencies, and the permit conditions are technology-neutral. It is the mobile operators who decide which services shall be provided in the networks and which technology shall be used. Consequently, they also have the responsibility towards the users to implement changes in a responsible manner, to inform about upcoming changes in the range of services, and to offer the users good support to manage the consequences that the changes may have.
Adrian Magnusson argues that the operators' phasing out of 2G and 3G technology is being carried out very rapidly. However, the operators communicated the plans for the phase-out as early as October 2020. The Government has tasked PTS with monitoring the decommissioning of the 2G and 3G networks as well as what information efforts are being carried out in connection with the decommissioning. Since 2021, PTS has on several occasions organized special information meetings on this and engaged in dialogue with other relevant authorities and organizations. The meetings are open to the public, and the opportunity to ask questions has been available via chat.
The European Association of Regulatory Authorities published a report in 2023 on the decommissioning of 2G and 3G with a consequence analysis of the technology transition. The report points out that this change process is necessary to enable the development of future communication networks and services.
When older technology is phased out in favor of more modern equipment, equipment and services may need to be replaced or upgraded. We have experienced this before, and it will happen again in the future. At the same time, it is important that these changes occur in a responsible manner, not least when it concerns the kind of socially important technology we are now talking about.
During 2023, the Consumer Agency carried out an information campaign aimed at businesses and consumers to describe the consequences that arise in connection with the technological shift. When selling goods whose functionality will be affected by the phasing out of 2G and 3G technology, the seller has an obligation to inform consumers about this.
PTS monitors, on behalf of the government, which compensation solutions are offered in cases where electronic communication services have been dependent on 2G or 3G networks. If necessary, the authority shall report and propose measures to the government.
It is important to keep in mind that this change is implemented as part of the rollout of modern 5G technology, which opens up possibilities for entirely new areas of application such as industrial applications, smart cities and societies, and extensive automation within both the public and private sectors. The new technology is more broadband-efficient and can support a growing number of devices and data traffic. It is essential for Sweden to continue to be a nation at the forefront.
Adrian Magnusson (S)
Mr. Speaker! First, a thank you to the Minister for the answer! It was a detailed answer to my question as to whether a consequence analysis has been made regarding the shutdown of the 2G and 3G networks, this so that individuals, authorities, and companies are not exposed to unnecessary risks when the networks are shut down next year. Sweden is the first in the EU to shut down its 2G and 3G networks.
Let me be extremely clear on one point. We shall embrace development. We shall take it in, and we shall welcome it. We shall be at the forefront of technical development and seize all its opportunities. It is of course self-evident that we shall expand the 5G network and next-generation networks and ensure that we use those networks as much as possible.
At the same time, as the Minister surely knows, the Swedish 2G and 3G networks are well-developed and used. There are many services connected to those networks, for example, many of this country's alarm systems. But this also applies to card terminals, elevator alarms, and panic alarms. It applies in particular to the e-call systems in the country's cars that are rolling out on the roads. They are the ones that call SOS Alarm when something has happened. They risk becoming completely ineffective if the network is shut down.
Mr. Speaker! A consequence analysis of what risks exist for life, health, property, and perhaps other values, and what we do to prevent those risks, would have been needed. But in the response, it does not appear that any such analysis has been made prior to the shutdown, and that is somewhat remarkable.
The Minister highlights that the change process is necessary. As I have previously stated, we are in complete agreement on this. We cannot have outdated technology if Sweden is to be at the forefront of digitalization. At the same time, the Minister states in his response that the transition shall take place in a responsible manner.
This transition without conducting any impact assessment, where Sweden is the first country in the EU to make that transition, is somewhat hasty. The Minister highlights that an information effort from PTS has been ongoing since 2020 and that it is therefore not a rapid transition. It is, of course, an argument that can be made.
It is estimated that there are approximately 720,000 home alarms in Sweden. A majority of these are still connected to the 2G and 3G networks. When it comes to shop alarms, it is an even larger proportion than that. If the technical transition has not yet occurred and the networks are switched off next year, I still want to assert that it is a fairly rapid transition.
Mr. Speaker! There is no direct contradiction in keeping at least a small part of the 2G network running during a transition period. Ericsson, among others, has said that this could happen. I believe that neither I nor the Minister questions the company Ericsson's knowledge and competence in these types of matters. It could be a way to at least reduce the risks for large parts of the 2G- and 3G-connected Sweden when the networks are switched off.
The shutdown is estimated to take place next year. I feel that the Minister is validating this here. It does not appear that any impact assessment has been conducted for Sweden. It is a bit of a shame, because there are certain risks that I have pointed out.
Is the government willing to commission, for example, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority or another suitable agency to conduct a consequence analysis, or will we have to wait until 2025 and then see what happens after that?
Will we, for example, end up in a situation where the panic alarms around the country, from Ystad, where I live, to Haparanda, where some others live, suddenly stop working?
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! It should be added that France and the Netherlands are also members of the European Union. There, the shutdown of the 2G and 3G networks has also begun. I do not have the exact end dates in those cases. But Sweden is not so unique in this case. Switzerland is admittedly not a member of the EU, but there the 2G network has already been phased out. The same development is occurring but with slightly different end dates. It is a natural transition when new, more robust technologies enter the market.
Our business community is very keen on rolling out the new technology so that we can adapt to a more digitally advanced and modern society that will be able to improve our economy and, not least, the lives and everyday lives of people in this country. That is, after all, one of the goals and opportunities with the rapid 5G rollout. It is a very high priority for the government to speed up the 5G rollout.
It is important to emphasize that it is not the government that has decided on a shutdown of the 2G and 3G networks. It is the operators who have decided this according to the agreements that have been concluded after auctions were completed where different telecommunications operators won different frequency bands. It is they who have decided to shut down the 2G and 3G networks in accordance with those agreements. The government has not made those decisions.
As the conditions are set, it also means that it would be impossible, or at least very difficult or inappropriate, for the government to now brake the decommissioning. The agreements are technology-neutral. They were also so under the Social Democratic government when the agreements were concluded. They were technology-neutral. There has been a consensus in Sweden that technology neutrality shall prevail. We believe it is up to the market to decide which technology it wants to fill the frequency bands with.
It is very possible that the Social Democrats have now changed their minds and think that the agreements, the auctions, and the conditions should not be technology-neutral. I think that would be a shame. Let us have that debate in that case! But as long as one advocates for technology neutrality, as the Social Democrats have at least done until now, this is however a matter for the telecommunications operators and not for the government.
As said: We have known about this for many years now. Both Konsumentverket and PTS have had information about this. PTS follows up on the consequences of this. The issue is being followed. One stays informed and informs others about the consequences of this.
During the previous parliamentary term, I was a municipal politician in Stockholm, and I know myself that we were aware of the decommissioning and could upgrade with new safety alarms for the city's elderly so that it would work with the new technology.
I mean that we are quite aware of the consequences. We are following the issue through PTS. Information campaigns are being held by PTS and the Consumer Agency, and an active dialogue is being maintained. But the shutdown will take place at the end of 2025, as the telecommunications operators have decided.
Adrian Magnusson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I can then inform the Minister that France will be closing its 3G network as early as 2029. The Netherlands has no end date for its 2G network or its 3G network, and in Switzerland, there was no deployed 2G network from the start, so it will not be the same challenge as here in Sweden, where we have so many services connected to the 2G and 3G networks.
In Region Skåne, there is information that there are currently 200,000 safety alarms connected to the 2G and 3G networks, and the networks are to be shut down next year. That is a challenge, to put it diplomatically.
Finland has chosen to postpone its shutdown until 2029, as it is seen that there are many challenges. LRF points out that many agricultural and forestry machines are connected to the 2G and 3G networks, especially the 2G network.
So, one has no impact assessment. One seems to think: We'll run it and see how it goes! It will probably be fine. Hopefully, it works out. And if it doesn't - well, that was a shame!
I miss a consequence analysis and a unified approach to the issue, and I experience that many others also lack it: What will be the consequence of the shutdown? One cannot talk to the operators if one were to see that it becomes unreasonable problems?
We also have the e-call functions, which I spoke a little about before. It might become a situation where one in Denmark can have their e-call system running, but on the other side of the Öresund Bridge, in Skåne, it no longer works, because the 2G and 3G networks there have been decommissioned. This creates challenges for integration and the like in that part of Sweden, and similarly at the border with Finland.
Today, there are quite a few homes and businesses in the countryside that do not have access to anything other than the 2G network. There is not a deployed 5G network. I will, of course, concede that a lot has happened in that area recently. We see that the expansion of 5G is now picking up speed, but we are not at the finish line. We do not have a situation where 100 percent of Sweden's area is covered by 5G, and we probably will not have that in 2025 either.
Furthermore, we do not know what this will cost. If all the 200,000 safety alarms in Region Skåne are to be replaced, it is a rather large cost. There is no collective impact assessment, but the idea seems to be as I said: We go! It will probably be fine! We will see what happens, and we can come and solve it later, maybe.
Perhaps that can be done. But then could the Minister not account for that?
My question was: Can the Minister guarantee that there is a consequence analysis? Now I am getting a general lecture on Social Democratic policy. It is always fun when one gets that from bourgeois Ministers: This is what you didn't do, this is what you think, and this is how it is! It is almost as if the earth revolves around Social Democracy.
I asked if there was a consequence analysis. I experience that there is no such thing. So the answer is then that it has to go as it goes, or have I misunderstood something?
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Now I cannot verify the figure 200,000 when it comes to how many safety alarms are connected to the 2G and 3G networks in Skåne. I will have to double-check that. But the question of what should happen with the safety alarms must be asked of those who operate them, i.e., probably the municipalities in Skåne. One must ask the municipal politicians why they have not prepared for the shutdown and the replacement of the safety alarms.
When I was senior housing councillor in Stockholm, we did this, because we knew that in 2025 the 2G and 3G networks will be switched off. We knew already then that we had to budget and prepare to replace the alarms with more modern safety alarms. I assume that the municipal politicians in Skåne have also done this, so that no elderly people are left without safety alarms at the end of 2025. I assume that Skåne's municipal politicians are that responsible. But I will gladly check up on this, follow the issue, and have a dialogue with SKR about this.
If we were to enter into a political management of these issues, which we have not had previously, and extend the shutdown to 2027, I am not sure that it would help so much. It only delays decisions that should have already been made. It is to postpone the deadline all the time. My experience in life is that it rarely helps to postpone things, neither in private life nor in politics, but it is just as good to get them done and tear off the bandage.
We have, as we have said, known about this. We found out as early as 2020. One has had five years to prepare for the technological shift. Konsumentverket and PTS have had information campaigns and conducted an active dialogue on this issue.
Let me repeat a passage from my interpellation response: "The Government has tasked PTS with monitoring the decommissioning of the 2G and 3G networks as well as what information efforts are carried out in connection with the decommissioning. Since 2021, PTS has on several occasions organized special information meetings on this and held a dialogue with other relevant authorities and organizations. The meetings are open to the public with the possibility to ask questions via chat."
No one can say that there has been no information or that this is a sudden decision. We have known about this since 2020. It is not a decision for the government, but it is a decision that the telecommunications operators themselves have made because we have technology neutrality in our networks and in our auction terms.
So, one should replace 2G and 3G with 5G; that is the idea. It is not about phasing out 2G and 3G, but about replacing them with 5G, which will be to great benefit for the entire society.
Adrian Magnusson (S)
Mr. Speaker! I also believe that the day when all these digital services and all of Sweden are covered by the 5G network will be a good day for Sweden. It will enable completely different solutions than the ones we have today. But we are not there. It is simply a matter of stating this.
It is a quite large change being implemented. It is a fundamental change of many services that exist across the country, and there is no impact assessment of it. People have been informed—that is what I have understood—and that is very good, but there is no impact assessment. We do not even know when the shutdown will occur. It could be that people one day suddenly discover that their home alarm does not work. What are they supposed to do then?
There is no analysis of what might happen. This is what worries me.
PTS shall follow the decommissioning, says the Minister in his response. It is thus after the decommissioning has already taken place and the emergency alarms and safety alarms have stopped functioning. I am asking about the preparatory work, not what should happen when the shutdown is already underway. This is not what is my focus in the interpellation, but it is precisely the impact assessment before the shutdown.
I can only state that there is no impact assessment regarding the shutdown of the 2G and 3G networks. We do not know what will happen. We can only hope that Sweden's companies, individuals, authorities, and organizations keep their fingers crossed on the day the shutdown occurs and hope that the damage will not be too great.
Statsrådet Erik Slottner (KD)
Mr. Speaker! I agree that this is a major issue. That is also why active work has been carried out by, among others, PTS and the Consumer Agency, and that is why PTS has received clear mandates to follow this issue. They have received it because the issue is so large.
In this dialogue, naturally, one concern or another and challenges that may arise along the way emerge. In line with the work that PTS performs, a more and more comprehensive picture is created at an aggregated level which PTS naturally carries with it, and one shall then return to the government.
But this will be switched off in 2025. The telecommunications operators have decided this, according to the auction procedures and the conditions that exist in the auction procedures. Right now, a major information campaign is underway - I received information about this at one of the recent broadband forums I attended - which the private actors are responsible for, this precisely so that people in both businesses and households will be as informed and prepared as is possible.
We can look forward to even more rollout of 5G ahead. It will be needed for Sweden to be able to continue to be a competitive country and a strong welfare nation. We will see all that 5G enables, increasingly advanced digital technology, including for the benefit of the sick, the elderly, and vulnerable people.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.