Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of US providers switching off their 3G networks on the communications service experienced UK citizens travelling to the US; and what obligations exist for UK providers to inform their customers of the impact of that decision in the US.

Switching off 3G mobile networks is a global trend as operators free up spectrum to focus on the provision of newer 4G and 5G services. In the US, all 3G networks have already been switched off. This might affect the experience of UK customers travelling to the US, in particular for customers with an older phone model. In some cases, UK customers might not be able to make calls or access data unless they are connected to WiFi.

There is no specific obligation for UK mobile providers to inform their customers of changes to network provision in other countries. However, Ofcom is speaking to providers to ensure that they are informing customers of this impact and some providers have been proactively sending messages to potentially affected groups. Customers should speak to their mobile network provider before leaving the UK to understand the impact of 3G switch off on their roaming experience.