General News
15 July, 2024
Network nears its use-by date
The end of days is coming for the remainder of Australia’s 3G network, yet despite a years-long death knell the federal government is concerned that over half a million Australians are still using devices which rely on 3G networks to save lives.
TPG Telecom/Vodafone began its closure of 3G network devices in January, while Telstra recently extended their 3G switch-off date to August 31, and Optus will shut down their 3G network from September.
But according to latest industry figures, there are nearly 530,000 devices still in use which are not compatible with 4G networks.
Experts are cautioning that although some of these devices use 4G network for regular calls and texts, and for data access, they rely on 3G network to make emergency calls, and some users may not realise this until it is too late.
Most recent makes and models of 4G and 5G mobile phones bought in Australia support VoLTE capability allowing them to make voice calls over the newer networks.
However, refurbished and old devices are still being sold, and they may not be VoLTE-capable, so still use the 3G network to make voice calls such as Triple Zero.
Users may not realise their phone is configured this way, to allow data access but not voice calls, until 3G is switched off - and by then it may be too late for someone needing emergency assistance.
The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Senior Research Fellow Dr Daniel Featherstone said it was difficult to know what effect the transition from 3G to 4G networks, and subsequent shutdown of 3G networks would have on many small towns and communities.
“Our 2022 research has found a high reliance on prepaid mobile services as the primary means of phone and internet access,” Dr Featherstone said.
“Eighty-four percent of people own or share a mobile device, and 94 per cent of these are using prepaid services.
“The switch-off of Telstra and Optus 3G services could potentially impact those small communities and homelands that are currently reliant on 3G, as well as people travelling and working in remote areas that have only 3G access.”
Optus executive Harvey Wright said customers can be assured the 3G network will not be switched off in areas where 4G is not available.
"The number of sites like that are very small and we're confident that we will be able to maintain the coverage that we've got in both metro and regional throughout this process," he told Australian Associated Press.
Any device which uses cellular networks, internet or wifi to send and receive calls, messages or data that are only capable of using 3G networks will be impacted.
This includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, tablets, computers, watches and wearables, Smart devices and appliances, IoT devices such as EFTPOS terminals, industrial routers, scanners, security monitoring devices, telematics, asset tracking tools, environment monitoring tools, security cameras, medical alarms, personal emergency response solutions, home security alarms/devices, internet routers and modems.
Telstra and Optus have launched services for customers to check the status of their device by texting “3” to the number 3498.
Telstra has announced they have identified 12,000 customers they believe will struggle with the upcoming change and are issuing free 4G-compatible mobile phones to those they have flagged.
Telstra also said customers who haven’t upgraded yet will soon hear a short recorded message on outgoing calls reminding them to do so.
Do not call 000 to test your device.
Once your network provider has closed their 3G network, do not attempt to test your device by calling emergency services.
If you have an affected phone, the call may still go through, blocking access to real emergency callers and endangering lives.