Needy expat workers get new phones as Singapore moves to scrap 2G

This photograph taken on January 17, 2017 shows an elderly man displaying his 2G mobile phone in Singapore. High-tech Singapore will unplug its second generation (2G) mobile network in April, officials have said, affecting thousands of subscribers, among them foreign labourers and the elderly looking for cheaper bills and simplicity. / AFP PHOTO / TOH TING WEI / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: Singapore-telecommunication-technology-2G ,FOCUS by Toh Ting Wei

SINGAPORE: A Singapore migrant welfare group has started distributing 3G-enabled mobile phones to cash-strapped foreign workers days before the city-state shuts down its 2G network. 

Telecom operators in the highly wired island will end second-generation services on April 1, forcing thousands still relying it to upgrade their handsets or become a casualty of technology’s relentless advance.