2G Shutdown Dates by Country: Will Your GSM Gate Opener Still Work?
Every country has a different 2G shutdown timeline. This guide lists confirmed 2G shutdown dates by country and carrier for the UK, Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, and Norway, with advice for each market on whether to upgrade to a 4G GSM gate opener.
At a glance
2G is already fully shut down in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Australia, Singapore, and the United States. The UK, France, Spain, Belgium, and Canada are in the middle of shutting it down through 2026-2028. Germany and Italy are the only major Western markets keeping 2G alive into the early 2030s. If your GSM gate opener module is 2G-only and you're in one of the first group, it has already stopped working — upgrade to a 4G module like the RTU5035.
The 2G network is the cellular generation most GSM gate openers were originally built for. As carriers free up those frequencies for 4G and 5G, every 2G-only GSM gate opener in their coverage area silently stops working. This guide lists confirmed shutdown timetables for 14 major markets.
Confirmed 2G shutdown timetables
Sourced from carrier announcements, regulator filings, and IoT industry reports. Dates can move — always verify with your specific carrier before relying on these for a critical installation.
| Country | Status | Carriers | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | Shut down | KPN, T-Mobile (Odido), Vodafone | Done — KPN/Odido shut down by 2025; Vodafone followed in early 2026 |
| United Kingdom | In progress | EE, O2, Vodafone, Three | Phased through 2025-2033 — EE and Three 2G already off in many regions |
| Germany | Still active | Telekom (DT), Vodafone, Telefónica (O2) | DT and Vodafone keeping 2G until at least 2030; O2 the holdout |
| France | In progress | Orange, SFR, Bouygues, Free | Confirmed shutdown 2026 (Orange and Bouygues); SFR by 2028 |
| Spain | In progress | Movistar, Orange, Vodafone | Movistar shut 2G end of 2025; others by 2027 |
| Italy | Still active | TIM, Vodafone, WindTre | TIM shutdown 2029; WindTre and Vodafone 2030 |
| Belgium | In progress | Proximus, Orange, Telenet (BASE) | Proximus and Orange 2G end of 2025; Telenet by 2027 |
| Switzerland | Shut down | Swisscom, Sunrise, Salt | Done — all three operators shut down 2G in 2021 |
| Sweden | Shut down | Telia, Telenor, Tele2, Tre | Done — all 2G shut down by end of 2025 |
| Norway | Shut down | Telia, Telenor, ICE | Done — Telenor shut 2G end of 2025; Telia followed |
| Australia | Shut down | Telstra, Optus, Vodafone (TPG) | Done — all three operators shut down 2G between 2016 and 2018 |
| Singapore | Shut down | Singtel, M1, StarHub | Done — 2G shut down 2017 |
| United States | Shut down | AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon | Done — AT&T shut 2G 2017, T-Mobile shut 2G 2022, Verizon shut 2G 2022 |
| Canada | In progress | Bell, Rogers, Telus | Bell shutdown by mid-2026; Rogers and Telus by 2027 |
What to do based on your country
Already-shutdown countries (NL, CH, SE, NO, AU, SG, US)
Your 2G-only module has already stopped working — or it's working only because your carrier is in the very last stages of shutdown. Replace immediately with a 4G-capable module. Drop-in replacement: the RTU5035 uses the same SMS commands as the RTU5024.
In-progress countries (UK, FR, ES, BE, CA)
Plan your upgrade now. Your module may work for another 1-3 years depending on which carrier you use, but the writing is on the wall. Buying a 4G module today is cheaper than the emergency replacement when your gate stops working with no warning.
Still-active countries (DE, IT)
2G is safe through 2029-2030 with the major carriers. If you're buying a new module, you can still pick a 2G/4G hybrid like the RTU5024 V2 — but for new installs the small price premium for the RTU5035 is worth it for the extra decade of life.
How to check if your module is 2G or 4G
Three ways, in order of effort:
- Look at the sticker. Most modules print the supported network generations on the side: "GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900" means 2G only. "LTE Cat-M1" or "4G LTE" means 4G.
- Check the model variant. RTU5024 V2, RTU5035, and Callny G202 PLUS 4G all indicate 4G capability. Plain RTU5015 is 2G only.
- Test with a 4G-only SIM. Get a SIM from a carrier that has already shut down 2G in your region. If the module registers and responds to SMS, it has a 4G modem. If it never gets signal, it's 2G only.
Sources
- Carrier official press releases and regulator filings (Ofcom, BNetzA, ACM, FCC, ACMA).
- Onomondo: LTE-M vs 2G IoT analysis
- GSMA Network Sunset Tracker (industry reference).
- Field reports from GateOpener users in each market.
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