Fljótsdalshreppur demands answers over 2G and 3G shutdown

The municipal council of Fljótsdalshreppur has urged Alþingi’s environment and transport committee to summon the chief executives of Iceland’s telecommunications companies to an open meeting to explain why the 2G and 3G mobile networks were shut down despite concerns raised by the emergency services, mbl.is reports.

The council adopted the resolution after a workplace accident in Brekkugerði, where it proved difficult to contact the emergency services. Austurfrétt first reported on the matter.

“This is a small community, and the municipal council held a meeting after the incident,” Bragi Þór Thoroddsen, the municipality’s manager, told mbl.is.

He said it had also been known that phasing out 2G and 3G would have a considerable impact in the area.

Thoroddsen said there were few emergency resources nearby and that response times could be lengthy when incidents occurred. Reliable communications were essential, he said, particularly in an area a few minutes’ drive from Hengifoss, which attracts more than 100,000 visitors a year.

“What we perhaps need to recognise is that Iceland is a tourist country. There is enormous traffic, but not necessarily extensive infrastructure. We constantly see incidents occurring either far from the main roads or far from the capital,” he said.

He added that rural areas were most affected by measures such as the network shutdown.

Thoroddsen said he had been surprised this summer by reports that emergency calling systems in cars that were not particularly old had not been upgraded to newer networks.

“The emergency equipment that connects you to 112 is not on 4G or 5G. These are issues we will very likely still have to resolve,” he said.

The discussion had begun long before the networks were switched off, but responsibility had largely been placed on users themselves, he said. Owners of older phones had been expected to upgrade their devices, while he was not aware of any specific campaign warning tourists about the change.

No responses to the resolution had been received when the article was written.

“There was nothing in the inbox the last time I checked. But this may just be the beginning of an effort to follow the matter up,” Thoroddsen said. “Alþingi does not necessarily act on something like this, but it does reach the ears of some people.”