Australia’s largest telecommunications company has announced it will be delaying planned 3G network closure dates by two months amid concerns over access to emergency calls.
Telstra announced the network closure will be delayed from June 30, 2024 to August 31, 2024, with the company advising the extension was to “give people more time to upgrade their devices”.
“Telstra have been communicating the closure of the network for nearly five years but understand there is a range of reasons why some people haven’t moved on,” the company said in a statement.
“The closure of the nation’s 3G network is an industry-wide change, moving people to better connectivity.”
The plan to switch off the network was announced in 2019, allowing for increased data and internet speed for 4G and 5G technologies.
However, closure of the 20-year-old network has caused concerns a number of people could be blocked from making emergency calls.
Devices using 3G, as well as some older 4G handsets, will no longer be capable of making emergency calls and connecting to triple-0 when the 3G network shuts off.
“Some 4G phones do not have an important feature called VoLTE emergency calling,” Telstra explained on its website.
“This feature enables triple-0 calls in Australia to travel over 4G, using its more modern standards.
“These phones may support 4G or 5G data, but rely on 3G to call emergency services and triple-0.”
After concerns were raised, a government appointed working group, comprising Telstra, TPG, Optus, and the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA), was organised to ensure the 3G shutdown was done safely — prompting the network closure extension.
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) CEO, Dr Gareth Downing, welcomed the creation of an industry working group “given concerns about device compatibility, triple-0 connectivity, and low public awareness of the shutdown”.
“We are concerned by reports indicating that up to 740,000 older 4G handsets will be unable to call triple-0 due to their use of legacy 3G networks.” Downing said.
“These devices will however work for regular phone calls on 4G networks, making it unclear to consumers that in the event of an emergency they will not be able to call triple-0.”
What if I still use 3G?
- If you have devices that can only use 3G, you won’t be able to connect to Telstra’s network after 31 August 2024.
- If your mobile device doesn’t have VoLTE technology, even if it uses 4G data, it will not be able to make voice calls on the Telstra network after 31 August 2024.
- Not all VoLTE enabled devices support emergency VoLTE calling, meaning they will not be able to make an emergency call to 000 once 3G closes.
Telstra has advised its customers to SMS the number 3 to 3498 to find out if their mobile phone will be impacted by the closure.