2degrees gives away $89 smartphones
2degrees is offering free smartphones to some customers who have yet to leave its 2G network.
The company will turn off its
2G network on Thursday, meaning customers with older phones will need to upgrade to a 3G or
4G-capable phone in order to continue calling and texting.
2degrees spokesman Paul Brislen confirmed the company was offering some customers who had yet to make the switch a free Alcatel Pixi 4X phone, which usually retails for about $89.
2degrees had more than 1.4 million prepaid and postpaid mobile subscribers at the end of September and the number of those who were still using 2G handsets was in the ‘‘thousands’’, he said.
Brislen said not all 2G customers were being offered the free smartphone. It depended on the amount they spent, but was ‘‘more to do’’ with how long they been with 2degrees, he said.
2degrees stopped selling 2G phones in 2015 and the free phone offer was the ‘‘tail end’’ of a long campaign involving offering discounts that it had been running since then to encourage people to upgrade, he said.
Instead of upgrading their phones, 2degrees customers can port them to Vodafone’s network, while keeping their existing phone number.
Vodafone said in 2016 that it planned to turn off its 2G voice service to free up its 2G network to connect ‘‘internet of things’’ devices – but it has since decided to keep the network open for consumer use until about 2025.
Porting a 2G phone to Vodafone would require people to buy a new Vodafone SIM card.
Spark no longer supports 2G devices.