Australia’s two biggest telecoms giants will disconnect their 3G services within days, a move that will leave tens of thousands of Australians in the lurch as their phones will be effectively unusable.
The mobile shutdown began late last year, when Vodafone became the first telecommunications company to disconnect its 3G network.
Telstra and Optus will follow suit and shut down their networks by October 28.
There are still 740,000 devices nationwide that have yet to be replaced by the deadline, or rendered unusable, due to a combination of those devices being older or foreign-made.
According to recent estimates, there are around 59,000 devices in Australia that will need to be updated over the next week.
There are phones in Australia that rely solely on the 3G network for voice calls, and these phones cannot make calls when the switch to 4G occurs.
One customer, Madeleine, who uses a four-year-old iPhone 11 on the Amaysim network, received just 11 days’ notice to upgrade her device.
He said messages from his telecommunications company made it seem like he simply needed to change plans.
Around 59,000 phones across the country will be unusable after Telstra and Optus shut down their 3G networks on October 28 (file image)
As part of the upgrade, you will have to buy a new phone or risk not being able to make calls, send text messages, or use the Internet on your device.
‘I was very frustrated when I found out I had to buy a new phone. “My current phone, despite being four years old, works perfectly fine and I haven’t budgeted to spend more than $1,000 on a new one, so it will really put a dent in my savings,” Madeline said.
To see if your device is one of the affected phones, text the number 3 to 3498 from the device you think is affected.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the move to 4G and 5G would increase the data capacity, speed and capacity of Australia’s mobile network.
‘This means better quality mobile telephony, less network congestion and a better experience across the country, including our regions. “This will make a real difference to households and businesses using more connected devices than ever before,” Ms Rowland said.
Optus head of new products Harvey Wright told NewsWire that the telco had sent more than 10 million messages to affected customers across its base, including instructions on how to get support throughout the process.
‘To maintain connectivity, customers need to obtain a compatible device. “We’re offering a range of different options for those customers,” he said.
Optus has sent more than 10 million messages to affected customers with instructions on how to get support during the closure process (file image)
“We recognize that we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis, so we are offering customers a range of discounted and zero-cost devices to help with that upgrade process,” Mr Wright said.
NCA Newswire also contacted Telstra but it did not respond.
Businesses are warned to check their devices
It will not only be mobile devices that will be affected, but also other key equipment that uses the 3G network.
Wright said while the upgrade would help improve reliability, capacity and speed in Australia, not only mobile devices would be affected but potentially other devices such as tablets and dongles.
Customers may be using a device that: Still relies on 3G, a 4G device that uses 3G for emergency calling, or an overseas or gray market device that does not support Australian 4G technology.
Small and Family Business Ombudsman Bruce Billson warned businesses to review their systems before October 28.
“Many of us don’t realize that there is a lot of technology and equipment we use every day that is enabled by 3G as a wireless communications link and will stop working when the system shuts down later this month unless be updated,” Mr. Billson said.
He said telecoms companies and technology manufacturers and providers could do more to improve awareness and action among small businesses, identify those who might unknowingly be using 3G and explain the broad effects and options for upgrading or replacing their teams as they progress. as soon as possible.
‘Don’t risk getting caught. Please check the functionality of your technology so you don’t become a victim of 3G,” Mr Billson said.