MTN South Africa will retire its 3G network by the end of 2026 and keep 2G for the foreseeable future, but since nearly a third of MTN’s prepaid device sales still rely on 2G, there is a cliff face ahead when the time comes to retire 2G. MTN South Africa has already shut down its 3G network in several Cape Town neighborhoods, and will reallocate spectrum towards its 4G and emerging 5G networks. It has over 4,000 5G sites, providing 44% population coverage, and should reach 60% by the end of the year. 3G will be switched off where sufficient 4G coverage is available. “We want to collapse the 3G layer and narrow the 2G layer, and just provide a…