Vietnam has postponed its planned 2G shutdown until next month following the impact of Typhoon Yagi.

The switch-off had been set to take place by September 16 on land, however, the country's Ministry of Information and Communications has delayed the date until October 15 as more than three million people in the country are using the service.

In June, the MIC said that 2G services will continue to be provided in the Trường Sa (Spratly) and Hoàng Sa (Paracel) archipelagos until September 15, 2026.

Typhoon Yagi, a category five storm, hit large parts of Southeast Asia including Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar earlier this month, claiming more than 900 lives.

According to Reuters, the storm killed more than 290 people in the north of Vietnam.

The disruption caused by the typhoon led to the government's decision to delay the 2G shutdown.

"This move is intended to provide a buffer period for businesses and residents to address the extensive damages inflicted by the historic storm, which significantly impacted telecom infrastructure and customer communications," said Minister Nguyen Manh Hung.

The MIC noted that as of September 8, 3.4 million people in the country still have 2G handsets. A shortage of suitable 4G phones has also halted the proposed switch-off for device suppliers and telcos.

Telcos in the country have been urged to encourage subscribers to ditch 2G handsets for 4G or 5G handsets instead.

Vietnam Telecommunications Authority (VNTA) said that the 900/1800MHZ band will no longer be used for the 2G, and will be repurposed for the country's 4G and 5G networks.

MIC set out plans to start its 2G shutdown in December, ahead of a full switch-off this year.

Vietnam's 2G mobile network has been in operation since 1993, and although the number of people using the network has dropped, Vietnam's MIC estimated last year that it expected about six million, or less than five percent of the total, to still use the network by the end of last year.