Hype is a crazy destructive thing. The 5G evangelists oversold the technology so much that the whole world is now underwhelmed by it. While it’s a significant upgrade over LTE, sliced bread, it is not.
So, the march towards 5G continues and I’m properly whelmed by it now, as you should be too. The reality is that 4G/LTE will remain important in Zimbabwe for the foreseeable future, and even 3G will still be relevant.
However, we have no business being dependent on 2G/Edge and yet we still are, to an extent.
This table from the latest POTRAZ report shows that 45% of our base stations are 2G across all three mobile operators.
You might say, what’s the harm in relying on 2G when necessary? Well…
Google says to disable 2G connectivity
First off, we should acknowledge that this advice may not be feasible for everyone in Zimbabwe. As mentioned above, we sometimes still rely on 2G for our communication needs, so following this advice could make you unreachable at times.
Google says cell-site simulators, also known as False Base Stations (FBS) or Stingrays, are radio devices that mimic real cell towers (base stations) in order to lure mobile devices to connect to them.
This tactic allows malicious actors to surveil, intercept communications, or even commit financial fraud.
With these fake cell towers, they can forcibly downgrade nearby devices to a 2G signal, then send phishing links and malware via SMS. They can even spoof phone numbers, like those of banks, because 2G lacks mutual authentication technology.
This is known as SMS Blaster fraud, where attackers use cell-site simulators to send fraudulent SMS messages directly to phones.
This method bypasses Econet, NetOne, and Telecel, evading their network-based anti-spam and anti-fraud filters.
As noted, it relies on 2G. The 2G protocol is outdated and has significant security flaws. In developed countries, most major carriers have shut down their 2G networks.
However, even if Econet, NetOne, and Telecel shut down 2G, your phone is still capable of connecting to 2G, and this can be exploited through cell-site simulation.
This is why Google is advising users to disable 2G connectivity on their phones. They suggest going into “Settings,” navigating to “Network & Internet,” selecting “SIMs,” and manually disabling 2G.
This option is only available on phones running Android 12 and above, and even then, some manufacturers don’t provide it.
Overly fearful?
When we discuss these issues, many people believe it doesn’t really matter in Zimbabwe. Some think we’re too poor to be targeted by foreign criminals, and that our local criminals aren’t sophisticated enough.
This complacency leads to a false sense of security, until a major hack like the one involving ZB Bank occurs, and life goes on as usual. This shows that we definitely aren’t too poor to be targeted.
To add to this, Google says:
SMS Blasters are sold on the internet and do not require deep technical expertise. They are simple to set up and ready to operate, and users can easily configure them to imitate a particular carrier or network using a mobile app.
And there goes the ‘our criminals aren’t sophisticated’ comfort.
It gets worse. It’s not just criminals who commit this fraud—police forces around the world use these devices to track individuals, identify protestors, or perform other investigative tasks that would normally require legal authority.
Google is working on additional security measures to protect you from cell tower simulation, but for now, you can disable 2G if you choose.
iPhone users, however, are out of luck—there’s no easy way to disable 2G connectivity on the iPhone. You could put your phone in lockdown mode, but that would limit the phone’s functionality.
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