‘Inadequate:’ Fresh warning on 3G shutdown

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has been urged to meet with Telstra and Optus to extend the pending shutdown of the 3G network, with fears Australia’s 4G coverage is not up to scratch.

The scathing interim report into the pending network shutdown by September 1 said Australia was “inadequately prepared,” and called on the minister to “urgently meet” with both Telstra and Optus to ensure 4G network coverage to extend the deadline until she is satisfied the 4G network is an adequate replacement.

If not, Ms Rowland should use her ministerial powers to force a delay, which can occur following consultation and procedural processes.

The committee said both government and industry need to audit the number and type of devices which would be affected by the shut down, with an “unknown number of non-mobile devices that will be affected by the shutdown”.

Current estimates from Ms Rowland’s office suggests the figure is about 77,000.

They feared the shutdown would affect industries like health, surveying, agriculture, emergency services, and also potentially affect EFTPOS terminals and elevators.

Of particular concern is whether phones will be able to continue accessing emergency calls.

Telstra has also specified devices which don’t support VoLTE emergency calling will not have access triple-0, or make voice calls even on 4G data.

“The committee believes the dangers to public safety, business continuity, and the provision of essential services as a result of the shutdown are too great to ignore and that the shutdown must be delayed until these concerns are sufficiently addressed,” the report said.

Ms Rowland said the government was working with industry to ensure a smooth transition, with a working group and her department meeting on a near daily basis to address concerns.

“The Government supports the switchover but it needs to be done in a safe way,” she said.

“We remain particularly concerned about a subset of 4G-enabled devices that default to 3G for triple-0 calls because of how they are configured by their manufacturers.

“The industry has undertaken significant effort to identify and contact and communicate with customers who may be affected and has introduced financial hardship measures for vulnerable customers and elderly people. There is more work to be done.”

While the switchover would “boost data capacity, speed and capability of Australian networks” by enabling 4G and 5G technology, she reiterated it needed to be done “in a safe way,” she said.

“Mobile customers of any network can text ‘3’ to ‘3498’ and receive an instant reply on whether their mobile handset could be impacted by the 3G switchover,” she added.

“We strongly encourage all Australians to check their device via the SMS service, respond to messages from your mobile provider and take action.”

Opposition spokesperson for communications David Coleman said the government took too long to address concerns of the shutdown, despite the years of forewarning.

He also urgently called on Ms Rowland to “end the uncertainty” for consumers and the industry.

“The Government spent too long being a weak and ineffectual bystander in the shutdown process,” he said.

“This was a shutdown which was announced five years ago. We are only in the mess now because of a government that failed to act quickly on the warnings and then moved at dial-up speed.”