Telstra and Optus have delayed the shutdown of their 3G mobile networks by two months following concerns potentially hundreds of thousands of mobile phones and other connected devices could be suddenly cut off.
The two companies were due to shut down their networks at the end of August, but have now delayed the shutdown until 28 October 2024, they announced on Wednesday. The telcos said they will use the extra time to communicate to customers the need to upgrade their devices.
Optus’s interim CEO, Michael Venter, said “the majority” of its customers impacted by the 3G switch-off were “now on compatible devices”.
“We are joining with Telstra to launch a final public awareness campaign to really drive home the safety message and get the final groups of customers to act,” he said.
Telstra’s CEO, Vicki Brady, reiterated the company’s efforts to communicate information about the shutdown to customers “for almost five years”.
“This has included multiple letters, bill messages, SMS, public awareness campaigns, advertising – even doorknocking and sending free phones to people in vulnerable circumstances,” she said. “And our support for customers won’t end the day the network closes.”
Much of the focus has been on older 3G phones and early 4G phones that cannot make emergency calls over the 4G network. At the start of this year, 740,000 devices were affected, reduced to 77,000 by the start of August.
There is major concern over equipment such as Eftpos machines, ATMs, CCTV and medical alert devices that connect via 3G. Telstra told a parliamentary inquiry on the shutdown last month it has 399,000 internet-of-things devices (such as water meters, electricity meters and more) that are not 4G-capable, as well as 63,000 early-version smartwatches and 45,000 wireless broadband devices or tablets.
Optus says it has about 100,000 devices predominantly used by small and large businesses, including payment terminals, monitoring and telemetry devices.
While the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, is empowered to potentially force the delay of the shutdown, the two telcos have extended the timeline voluntarily.
The opposition criticised Rowland and the Albanese government for the delay in a Wednesday statement, saying they “took too long to respond to the warnings” about potential issues with the network shutdown. But in her own statement on Wednesday, Rowland said the delay was a sensible move.
“I want to encourage all Australians to take action and check if their device could be impacted,” she said.
“The government remains concerned about a subset of 4G phones configured by the manufacturer to default to 3G for triple zero calls, and personal medical alarms that rely on the 3G network.”
Vodafone’s parent company, TPG, shut down its 3G network last year. The shutdown will allow the mobile spectrum to be reused for 5G services.
