Australia’s two biggest telcos have delayed the shutdown of their 3G networks by a further two months, heeding the call of a parliamentary committee less than two weeks ago.
Telstra and Optus announced the decision on Wednesday, setting 28 October as the new date for the start of 3G network closure that has been on the cards for almost five years.
Both companies plan to use the extra time to conduct a public safety awareness campaign, described as “one last push” to notify the last impacted customers of the network closure.
The campaign is expected to reach more than 90 per cent of Australians and stress the impact of the shutdown on not only traditional handset but medical monitors, IoT sensors, emergency lift phones and fire alarms.
The government has welcomed the decision, which comes less than two weeks after the telcos committed to pushing ahead with the shutdown despite a Senate committee warning of the dangers to public safety.
It means the government will not yet have to intervene and place conditions on Telstra and Optus, as both the 1G to 2G transition in 1997 and the 2G to 3G transition in 2007 required.
“This is a sensible move by both major telcos and the government looks forward to ensuring that all Australians have the opportunity to be informed about what the 3G switchover will mean for them,” Communications minister Michele Rowland said.
Ms Rowland has urged customers of Telstra and Optus to use the additional time to prepare for the switchover by checking if their handsets and non-mobile devices could be impacted.
“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,” she said.
Around a million devices are expected to cease to function after the two 3G networks are switched off, the Senate committee heard last month, with the majority of these non-mobile devices.
Telstra is said to still have 399,000 3G-capable IoT devices, such as water meters and electricity meters, as well as 107,000 older smartwatches and tablets, while Optus has around 100,000 devices, including IoT devices and payment terminals.
On Wednesday, Optus’ interim chief executive Michael Venter said the telco had “pulled out all the stops” to guide customers impacted by the 3G shutdown through update process, with the “majority of them… now on compatible devices”.
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady added that “support for customers won’t end the day the network closes”, building on five years of communications to customer about the need to prepare for the shutdown.
Shadow communications minister David Coleman said the delay was a consequence of mishandling by the government, which was “too slow to act on the warning signs” that emerged a year ago.
“We welcome the plans which Telstra and Optus have announced, including a public safety campaign for those still relying on the 3G network,” he said in a statement shortly after the decision.
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