au's KDDI will end the 3G service mainly used for mobile phones called "feature phones" in 31 days.

Other mobile phone companies are planning to end the service within a few years, and the issue is whether users can smoothly switch to smartphones.

The 3G service started in the early 2000s and has been used for various services on mobile phones called feature phones, such as being able to send photos and videos as well as voice calls.



KDDI, which handles au, will end its 3G service within 31 days because 4G has become the mainstream due to the spread of smartphones and the number of users has decreased significantly.



As a general rule, it will not be available after midnight on April 1, so 3G users will visit one after another to change models at au stores in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, and the staff will be able to change the model for free. I was introduced.



A man who visited the procedure said, "I've been using this model for 15 years, so I'm attached to it, but this day has finally come. I'm going to use my smartphone as much as I can."



The 3G service is scheduled to end


in January 2024 for SoftBank


and March 2026 for NTT DoCoMo,


and the issue is whether users, including the elderly, can smoothly transition to smartphones.