As part of the retirement of 2G and 3G technologies in Metropolitan France, Arcep has been publishing a dedicated quarterly observatory of “2G” and “3G/2G” SIM cards. The purpose is to be able to assess the effects of the actions that operators have implemented with their customers to raise their awareness of the upcoming retirement of 2G and 3G technologies, and to assist them in migrating to 4G or 5G technologies.
Three months ahead of the announced shutdown of 2G networks in Metropolitan France, and now that it has become a reality in several departments in the southwest1, today Arcep is publishing the fifth edition of this Observatory. It includes quarterly monitoring figures as of end of June 2026 for the number of SIM cards installed on devices that are compatible only with 2G or with 2G and 3G, belonging to Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange and SFR subscribers in Metropolitan France.
Pace of the decrease of “2G” devices similar to the pace in the first two quarters of 2026, but greater than in Q3 and Q4 of 2025
The decrease in the number of SIM cards installed on devices that are compatible only with 2G (“2G” devices), belonging to Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange and SFR subscribers in Metropolitan France, totalled 327,000 units in Q2 2026, compared to a decrease of 413,000 units in Q1.
The number of active “2G” devices shrank by 41.4% YoY, dropping from 2.9 million to 1.7 million at the end of June 2026
| Change in 2Q 2026 | Annual change |
| “2G” M2M devices | -20.5% | -50% |
| “2G” voice/SMS/mobile internet devices | -13.7% | -35.5% |
| Total “2G” devices | -16.3% | -41.4% |
At the end of June 2026, “2G” M2M devices represented 2.4% of the total base of M2M devices, and “2G” voice/SMS/mobile internet devices 1.3% of the total base of voice/SMS/mobile internet devices.
With the first 3G network sunsets scheduled for 2028, the number of “3G/2G” devices has continued to shrink at an accelerated pace for several quarters, while still not matching that of “2G” devices.
The quarterly decrease in the number of SIM cards installed on devices that are compatible only with 2G and 3G networks (“3G/2G” devices), belonging to Bouygues Telecom, Free Mobile, Orange and SFR subscribers in Metropolitan France, totalled 283,000 units as of end of June 2026, compared to a decrease of 275,000 units in the first quarter of the year, or -11.2% compared to -9.8%.
The base of “3G/2G” M2M devices stands at 1.39 million units, and the base of “3G/2G” voice/SMS/mobile internet devices at 850,000 units. The pace of the quarterly decrease nevertheless rose to 14.2% compared to 5.8% in Q1.
End of June 2026, “3G/2G” M2M devices represented 5.3% of the total base of M2M devices and “3G/2G” voice/SMS/mobile internet devices 1% of the total base of voice/SMS/mobile internet devices.
The number of “2G” and “3G/2G” devices in Metropolitan France has decreased by a third YoY, shrinking from 5.9 million to 3.9 million as of the end of June 2026. The decrease in the base of “2G” devices accounted for 54% of the total quarterly decrease.
The timetables for the shutdown of 2G and 3G technologies provided by operators are available on the Arcep website Arcep (cf. “For more information, visit the Arcep website”).
For more information, visit the Arcep website
For consumers (in French): 2G and 3G mobile network sunset: are you ready?
For businesses, local authorities and property managers (in French): 2G and 3G mobile network sunset: are you ready?
Annex
1 Since 31 March 2026 in the metropolitan areas of Bayonne, Anglet and Biarritz, since 12 May 2026 in departments 64 and 40, and since 9 June 2026 in departments 47, 46, 32, 65, 31, 82 and 09.