Swedish operators Tele2 and Telia want to gradually phase out their joint venture Sunab, which operates their shared 3G network, to hasten the transition to 4G.

“Today, the 3G network has over 6,000 base stations that will gradually be phased out or reused in other network expansion, which will result in cost and energy efficiency for Tele2,” the operator said in a statement.

Sunab is responsible for building, owning, and operating Tele2’s and Telia’s common 3G network. The two parties want to phase out the Sunab network “as a natural part of the future network development”.

Tele2’s transition of traffic is scheduled to begin by the end of 2018 and be finalised by the end of 2025. The operator said customers will not be impacted because the transfer will be done gradually and will be monitored through continuous follow-up.

“The transition from 3G to 4G is completely in line with our network strategy to move away from legacy networks, and move towards next generation networks. As Sweden’s most energy efficient network provider, we are extremely proud to accelerate our development, and become even more economically and environmentally efficient,” Samuel Skott, CEO of Tele2 Sweden, said.