End of 2G networks: the risk of elevators out of service

Since Wednesday, August 20, the elevator in the building at 5 rue des Marronniers, in the ^16th arrondissement of Paris, has been connected to 4G. Its remote alarm system, which allows emergency services to be contacted, previously operated on 2G networks. This is a vital technological leap: it will allow the remote alarm to still function properly at the end of 2026, when operators will have all shut down their old 2G networks. This will allow residents to continue using their elevators: any installation without an emergency call system must normally be shut down, with serious consequences for residents' lives.

For Orange, SFR, Bouygues Telecom, and Free, it's time to put an end to 2G, which first appeared in the early 1990s. But its planned demise is worrying many property managers, who fear they won't have enough time to make the switch. Orange, whose 2G network is also used by Free, will begin shutting down its network in March 2026.

The upgrade work appears colossal. In a press release published in October 2024, the Elevator Federation counted 232,000 2G-connected telealarm systems, a good third of the national fleet. Its president, Alain Meslier, laments that this figure has "not changed much" since then. In addition to elevators, a study by PwC, published in June 2024, estimated that there remained, as of January ¹ of that same year, four million devices connected to 2G, including burglar alarm systems or remote assistance systems for dependent and isolated people.

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