‘Lives at stake’ in outback if solution not found before 3G network shuts down
Australia’s telcos must guarantee there will be no disruption to emergency services when the 3G network is switched off, an inquiry has been told.
“If people can’t call triple-zero because either they’re using a handset that can’t do it or they’ve lost coverage because a 3G footprint no longer exists, then lives are at stake,” NSW Telco Authority chief technology officer James Pickens told a Senate inquiry.
The committee is examining the closure of 3G and its potential implications, with Telstra and Optus executives set to give evidence on Wednesday.
Telstra is due to switch off 3G on August 31, Optus will close it from September, and TPG/Vodafone ceased its operation in January.
Mr Pickens, from the NSW government agency that oversees emergency communications, said the closure should be delayed if the telcos cannot provide equivalent 4G coverage.
“Our preference is for a phased approach to the 3G shutdown,” he told the inquiry’s first public hearing, at Cooma in southern NSW on Tuesday.
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“This would ensure the coverage concerns and transition issues are closely monitored and managed on a location-by-location basis.”
The federal government recently said 102,000 active mobile phones were not compatible with 4G for triple-zero calls, a sharp decrease from more than 740,000 in March.
These devices – often bought overseas or second-hand – use 4G data for regular calls and texts, but drop triple-zero calls to 3G because they are not enabled with a technology called Voice over LTE.
Users may not realise their phone is configured this way by the manufacturer until the 3G network is switched off and they need to call the emergency line.
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Telcos have a service for customers to check the status of their device by texting “3” to the number 3498.
Users will also hear a pre-recorded message on non-emergency outgoing calls if they need to upgrade their phones.
Telstra and Optus said they have been improving their 4G and 5G coverage in the lead-up to the 3G closure, as well as offering free handsets to disadvantaged customers.
But telcos and the federal government may not be aware of the broader implications of the closure, the inquiry was told.
Personal medical devices such as cardiac monitors, farming technology and surveyors’ tools all rely on the 3G network.
“We feel the government and telcos did not engage broadly enough to understand the impacts of the shutdown on industries such as ours,” Surveyors Australia chief executive Michelle Blicavs said.
“As a key component of the construction industry, surveyors are the lifeblood of our economy as no project can start or finish without them.
“And during the current housing shortage surveyors are in even more demand.”
Health, communications and transport organisations are also due to front the inquiry at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday.
