VODAFONE has said it will phase out its 3G coverage in Bournemouth

Customers of the telecommunications company will soon no longer be able to access 3G connection to their mobile phones. 

The move is to “strengthen 4G and 5G services”, which essentially means the signal on mobile phones will be better and quicker. 

Less than two per cent of data is used on the 3G network nationally, more than 20 years after it was first introduced. 

Vodafone has said the entire country will no longer have access to 3G as part of its services. 

The other UK mobile network operators have confirmed to the government that they do not intend to offer 2G or 3G mobile networks past 2033.   

Vodafone’s UK chief network officer Andrea Dona said: “Our 3G switch off programme has gone extremely well so far.  

“As a result of our ongoing network improvements, data traffic has declined over the last few years with less than 2 per cent of the data used on our network being on 3G.   

“This means we can start to redeploy its remaining spectrum to our 4G and 5G services, ultimately leading to stronger and faster coverage for more parts of the UK.”