Tele2 Latvia has this week confirmed it will complete its 3G retirement plans by early next month.
In an announcement, Tele2 said that it will decommission the last remaining 3G base stations in Riga and Mārupe parish in early March.
Instead, the carrier will focus on its 4G and 5G mobile networks for voice calls, becoming the first Latvian telco to switch off 3G.
Tele2 Latvia, which is a subsidiary of Swedish telco Tele2, said its phase-out of the technology has taken around a year.
At present, less than one percent of mobile data is consumed on Tele2's 3G network.
"Currently, the main or basic technology in providing mobile communications is 4G, which is why operators around the world are abandoning the outdated 3G technology, which has lost its role in providing mobile communications services," said Tele2 technical director Līga Krūmiņa.
"We have also successfully completed this transition project, which allows us to use the freed frequencies that we used for 3G technology for the development of 4G and 5G networks, which will certainly benefit our customers."
Last month, Tele2's Estonian subsidiary also outlined its 3G retirement plans, noting that it will retire its 3G network by the end of this year.
Many mobile carriers across the world have either switched off their 3G networks or outlined plans to. Spectrum from the 3G network is reutilized for 4G and 5G instead.
