Vodafone Australia plans to shut down its 2G network, which accounts for only 0.7 per cent of data traffic, at the end of September next year.

The operator, the country’s smallest mobile player with an 18 per cent market share, said 76 per cent of data usage runs on its 4G network. Just 2 per cent of voice traffic is channeled through its 2G network.

4G customers account for 64 per cent of its user base, with 26 per cent on its 3G network and about 10 per cent on its 2G network, according to GSMA Intelligence.

Vodafone’s acting CTO Kevin Millroy said it is starting a 12-month campaign to move the remaining 600,000 customers off its legacy 2G network, which was rolled out in 1993.

The company, which said the closure will allow it to repurpose some of its 2G spectrum for 4G service, will be the last operator in the country to close its 2G network. Market leader Telstra said it will end 2G service in December and Optus plans to shut its 2G network next April.