Zain Bahrain recently became the first operator in the Middle East and North Africa to discontinue its 3G network. The process of 3G decommissioning began with a partial shutdown in February 2022 and was completed 10 months later in December 2022. Zain saw significant improvements in median downlink and uplink throughput after 3G retirement, leading to improved customer experience according to Ookla Consumer Sentiment Rating. .
LTE and 5G technologies are significantly more spectral efficient than 3G. By retiring 3G and freeing up spectrum for new technologies, carriers can offer faster and more resilient networks. Telcos can benefit from reduced operating costs, increased energy efficiency, and improved customer experience. This is why Zain Bahrain aimed to become the first operator to discontinue his 3G in the Middle East and North Africa. Zain He used Ookla Cell AnalyticsTM Identify areas where 3G traffic is dense, where consumers are still using older devices, and where 4G coverage needs improvement.
situation
Zain’s plan to phase out 3G will require careful planning and communication to ensure a seamless experience for users and businesses moving to 4G and 5G networks. Zain recognized that shutting down 3G risked customer dissatisfaction if the quality of service was affected. If he discontinues 3G in a market where many consumers do not have his 4G or 5G enabled devices, where are these customers and how much time is being spent on legacy technology? It’s important to understand. Before shutting down 3G, Zain needed to ensure that the 4G and 5G networks were ready to handle the previous 3G traffic.
Read the full case study here.
Ookla retains ownership of this article, including all intellectual property rights, data, content graphs, and analysis. This article may not be quoted, reproduced, distributed, or published for commercial purposes without prior consent. Journalists and others using the findings of this article for non-commercial purposes are welcome to publicly share, link to and report information attributed to Ookla.