Is any country still using 1G in 2025?

What is 1G? A brief history

“1G” stands for the first generation of cellular mobile networks. These early systems were analog and focused purely on voice calls — they did not support data, SMS, encryption, or advanced features that modern users expect. Typical 1G technologies included AMPS, NMT, TACS, C‑Netz, and other national variants.

Some key characteristics of 1G:

• Analog modulation: audio signals were transmitted as continuous waveforms, making them vulnerable to eavesdropping and interference.

• Low capacity & poor voice quality: call quality was often noisy, and only a limited number of simultaneous calls could be supported.

• No encryption or security: calls could be intercepted using radio scanners.

• No support for data or messaging: purely voice service, no SMS or internet.

• Limited roaming and handoff: the systems were fairly primitive in how they handled moving users across cell boundaries.

Japan was among the earliest adopters, with NTT launching a commercial 1G service in 1979 for Tokyo, later expanding nationwide. After that, many countries deployed 1G in the 1980s using different analog standards.  Over time, digital systems (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) supplanted 1G because they provided far greater efficiency, capacity, security, and support for data. 

By the 1990s, many countries had begun to retire analog 1G networks or gradually phase them out as users migrated to digital systems. 

Is any country still using 1G in 2025?

The short answer: No (or nearly none). By 2025, virtually all functioning mobile networks across the world rely on digital generations (2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) — or in some places, may be shuttering older digital networks like 2G and 3G — but 1G is essentially extinct in commercial operation.

Here’s how we reach that conclusion, based on the available evidence:

1. Official sources say 1G is obsolete
   Several industry overviews and telecommunication summaries explicitly state that 1G networks are now obsolete and no longer in commercial use.

2. Historical roll‑offs
   The last known operating 1G network (in Russia) was decommissioned earlier. According to many sources, Russia was the final country to still have an analog 1G (NMT) service, and that was shut down some years ago.
   Some writeups still mention “as late as 2018, a limited NMT service remained in Russia” before being retired. 

3. Absence of credible current listings
   In modern lists of wireless network technologies or mobile operator coverage, 1G does not appear as an active option for any country in 2025. 
   Moreover, telecom industry roadmaps typically refer to phasing out 2G and 3G in many regions — not 1G, which has already long been retired. 

4. Regulatory and spectrum repurposing
   The frequencies once used by analog 1G systems have mostly been reassigned to digital cellular or other wireless services — there’s little incentive to keep analog systems running when more efficient digital technologies exist.

Thus, in 2025, there are no countries (to the best of publicly documented knowledge) still running a commercially available 1G network.

Why did 1G disappear?

Understanding why 1G networks were phased out helps illustrate the technological and economic forces at play.

1. Digital technologies deliver far higher efficiency
   Digital modulation (used in 2G and beyond) allows better use of spectrum, more simultaneous calls per channel, error correction, and better handling of interference.

2. Support for data and messaging
   As mobile services evolved, demand for SMS, mobile internet, MMS, and later broadband data made analog-only voice systems obsolete. Only digital systems could support these features.

3. Security & encryption
   Digital systems support encryption, authentication, and fraud protection. In contrast, 1G analog calls could easily be intercepted, making them insecure.

4. Scalability & network maintenance
   Analog systems are costly to maintain, less flexible, and harder to upgrade. Telecom operators needed to move to platforms that could evolve and scale.

5. Economics & consolidation
   Over time, maintaining parallel analog infrastructure became economically infeasible. Operators shut down or repurposed 1G towers for digital services.

6. Regulation and spectrum reallocation
   Governments and regulators tend to repurpose spectrum for more efficient use, compelling operators to retire old analog networks to free up bandwidth.

Thus, by the early 2000s and 2010s, many nations turned off their analog 1G systems. In advanced markets, 1G shutdowns occurred decades earlier. In more remote or less developed markets, residues of analog systems might have lingered longer, but even those have by now vanished.

Hypothetical “if any remain” — a cautious caveat

While mainstream sources and telecom literature assert that no country uses 1G in 2025, it’s theoretically possible that some ultra‑remote, decommissioned, or experimental systems might still exist (for niche or legacy radio projects). But there is no credible documentation confirming any active commercial deployment of 1G as of 2025.

Some earlier sources (now historical) claimed that Russia was using NMT until recently, but those services have been discontinued. Some educational Q&A sites still assert that Russia had the “last 1G” system. But none of these hold up for 2025.

Why keep asking “Which countries use 1G in 2025”?

This question can attract interest because it’s counterintuitive — people might assume that older technologies always linger somewhere. It also allows you to explore the full evolution of mobile networks, emphasizing how quickly technology shifts, and to show readers:

• A timeline of cellular evolution (1G → 2G → 3G → 4G → 5G → 6G)

• The reasons why older systems become obsolete

• The process by which operators retire and refarm network infrastructure

• Regional variations in technology adoption and retirement schedules

By answering definitively that 1G is no longer in use globally, while detailing how and why that came to be, our content can serve as a reliable reference for students, technology enthusiasts, and industry watchers.