Hai Duong speeds up the elimination of "brick" phones

Afraid of change

2G phones, also known as "brick" phones, have a simple design, suitable for people who only need to make calls or the elderly. Since the end of 2023, network operators and media agencies in Hai Duong have increased propaganda about the "brick" phones being "killed" when the network operators turn off 2G waves.

However, up to now, the number of customers using 2G phones in the province is still quite large, mainly the elderly and the old due to their fear of change.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, 65 years old, in Dot Tren village, Nam Tan commune (Nam Sach) said that for more than 5 years now, she has been using a black and white Nokia phone to communicate. Wherever she goes, she brings the phone with her so that when her children live far away or when someone needs to call, she can pick up the phone right away. "I have used this phone for many years and am used to it. Now if I have to throw it away, I will feel very sorry because the phone is still good. Moreover, I am not used to using new, modern phones," Ms. Huyen shared.

In addition to being afraid of change, many people have a wait-and-see attitude, not rushing because their phones are working normally, and will only switch when the 2G signal is turned off in September. This "waiting until the last minute" will overload the network operators when they have to handle the phone conversion for a large number of customers in a short time. Customers also face inconvenience or interruption in communication.

Viettel is a network operator with a large mobile subscriber market share in Hai Duong. Currently, this network operator has about 140,000 subscribers using 2G phones. From the beginning of 2024 until now, on average, nearly 9,000 Viettel Hai Duong customers have changed their 2G phones to 4G, changed their 4G SIM cards, and registered for 4G data packages each month. It can be seen that this conversion speed is quite slow when there is not much time left from now until September.

Meanwhile, MobiFone Hai Duong still has more than 21,700 subscribers using 2G phones and devices. VinaPhone Hai Duong still has 5,000 subscribers using 2G phones and 2G SIMs.

Support anytime, anywhere

As the only person in Hai Duong who won the special prize of a Honda Vision motorbike in Viettel's "Upgrade to 4G, Upgrade" program last April, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa in Cap Thuong village, Tien Tien commune (Hai Duong city) said that for more than 10 years she has only used a black and white phone to make calls and send messages and does not know how to use Zalo or Facebook. At the end of last year, Ms. Hoa's "brick" phone broke so her husband replaced it with an old iPhone for communication.

"I didn't notice the message from the network operator giving me a prize code, so I didn't know there was a promotion. When I received a call from Viettel Hai Duong informing me that I won the special prize, I was extremely surprised and felt very lucky," said Ms. Hoa.

Although the above promotion program has ended, to speed up the process of eliminating "brick" phones, Viettel Hai Duong is increasing communication and supporting people in the whole province to convert 2G phones to 4G.

Ms. Tran Thi Hong Chien, Team Leader of Viettel Nam Sach Mobile Sales Team, said that every week her team organizes 5 sessions at cultural houses in villages and residential areas in the district to sell 4G phones, change 4G SIMs, standardize subscriber information, and combine propaganda on commune radio stations about the roadmap to turn off 2G waves. "In addition to cultural houses, we have to take advantage of the afternoon and evening to go to the homes of the elderly to advise and support them in switching phones because only their relatives are at home at this time," Ms. Chien said.

Currently, Viettel Hai Duong continues to offer incentives to customers when buying Viettel 4G phones with prices starting from only 390,000 VND/phone. In particular, customers will receive a 4G phone when registering for a prepaid subscription package of 6 months or more. This network is also quite strong in blocking non-standard 2G phones, regardless of whether they are newly registered or previously used.

MobiFone Hai Duong also organized propaganda on all the network's channels about the 2G shutdown roadmap and customer support programs such as free 2G SIM card conversion to 4G, providing additional suitable packages and supporting customers to upgrade their devices.

Meanwhile, VinaPhone Hai Duong focuses on shutting down 2G stations according to a specific plan. Every month, this network operator will make a list of stations serving few 2G subscribers to test shut down, notify customers about the shutdown process, and prioritize converting 2G SIMs to 4G in the area where the stations are shut down. Within 15 days of the trial shutdown, if there is no customer feedback, the 2G station will be completely shut down. In case there are still customer complaints, the station will be turned back on to serve.

In April, VinaPhone Hai Duong turned off 15 more 2G stations, bringing the total number of 2G stations turned off to 91, leaving 239 stations. It is expected that by 2025, this network will turn off all 2G stations.

Turning off 2G waves will directly affect the interests of many customers, so we really need the support of the community and people in implementing the roadmap to eliminate this "brick" phone line.