The 3G shutdown is rolling out across Australia in waves starting yesterday

If you've had a device that was killed, James Parker is collecting details of impacted devices to send to the 3G Inquiry Committee (and other official bodies)

If you have time please feel free to complete the form

##https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc1cWEMH91QvPcboNa3fn6Ip8r5fR1eGAVfpFDhQr4pjcbiMQ/viewform

Other related posts on the subreddit

- Telstra and Optus will be shutting down the 3G network on October 28

- Starting 1 November 2024, network providers are required to Block Devices they believe cannot call triple zero

https://old.reddit.com/r/TelstraAustralia/comments/1g9803d/telstra_20_increase/

On December 3, the customers still on the "Large Data Plan" for mobile will be paying $110 for for 400GB (up from $90)

A month or so ago it was noticed over on /r/TesltraAustralia that the plan was no longer available to sign up for.

Seems like a sign they dont want people to stay on this plan.

Some rural commenters are saying this is one of the more reliable home interenet options available to them.

Alongside more restrictive plans - Telstra also resells starlink, which they may be trying to push onto rural customers instead - they cut your bandwidth to 50Mbps and slap on a $125 pm price point. Buying directly through starlink might cost slightly more, but you're looking more at 300Mbps in optimal conditions.

Starting 1 November 2024, network providers are required to block devices they believe cannot call triple zero.

I cant see any major news outlets that are discussing this - there are however many (and frequent) updates on James Parkers medium post which was shared here at the start of the month. James Parker is also running change.org campaign which will be linked in the comments.

###ACMA Direction

As per the recent "Emergency Call Service Determination Direction 2024" Linked here

Starting 1 November 2024, network providers are required to Block Devices (Data, Calls and SMS) if they believe that device cannot call triple zero under the looming 3G Shutdown.

###Impact

While the amendments aim to ensure access to emergency services, the changes will have severe consequences for consumers, competition, and the overall accessibility of mobile services. Whilst also not addressing the core technical standardisation failures with VoLTE Calling and Emergency Calling. which will be the only way to make calls once 3G is shut down on October 30.

Many older and international handsets have fallback reliance to either a 2G or 3G network, especially when making emergency calls. Australia is set to be one of the first countries to shut down both their 2G and 3G network.

International visitors to Australia will be exempt from this Emergency Call Blocking direction, however their devices will very likely require a non-existant 3G (or 2G) network to make emergency calls, leaving international visitors potentially vulnerable in emergency situations. As a guest on Hugh Jeffrey's video, James Parker mentioned that Telstra eventually discovered that they had 2.3 Million roaming devices on their network over the month of July 2024. Many who would unlikely have been unable to make emergency calls when visiting Australia.

Unrelated to handset blocking, non-mobile devices like elevator phones, elderly assistance devices, and farming equipment may also be impacted by the 3G shutdown in a more broad sense.

###Devices potentially impacted

No one seems to truely know the full list of impacted mobile handset devices, WhisteOut has/had a list of popular devices which were previously listed as "partial support" for VoLTE by Telstra and Optus - which under this new "Direction" may just be upgraded to outright BLOCKED.

• iPhones 5,5C,5S, 6, 6 Plus, SE (1st Gen)
• Samsung Galaxy S5, S6, S6 Edge, S7, S7 Plus, S8, S8 Plus, Note 4, Note 5, Note 8
• Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, Pixel 2XL,
• Huawei Y6 Prime
• OPPO A57, F1s
• Optus X Smart 4G
• An unknown list of less popular devicess without Australian VoTLE profiles.
• Any device that has 2G or 3G fallback requirement to call 000

###Other Issues

Providers are not actively informing people they will be artificially blocked from connecting starting in November, even if they will have partially working calling, emergency calling, data and SMS on 4G.

Many customers find out once they make a call or SMS, and Optus's public statement only went out 1 day before the deadline to communicate the changes with customers.

Presumably international visitors who visit Australia with incompatible handsets (Devices that dont have Optus or Telstra VoLTE profiles loaded) and try to call 000 will get stuck on calling, and their emergency call will never go through.

###Change.org

This is quite a large problem that not many people seem to be aware of, if you are feeling similar, feel free to check out the Change.org petition in the comments below to help out in the smallest way possible.

###Additional Watching

Youtube summaries of the shutdown

HughJeffreys - Australia To Block Internationally Purchased 4G/5G Phones As Part of 3G Shutdown - Starting 1st Nov

and

Tech Man Pat - 3G shutdown? Well there goes your 4G device too... | Dirt Report

Telstra and Optus plan to retire the 3G network on October 28 2024.

Number of impacted handsets

Telstra and Optus dont know the full number of devices that will cease operating when they undertake this shutdown, it was originally ~700,000 but recently increased to 1 Million.

What handsets are impacted

The list of incompatible 4G and 5G branded handsets impacted is not fully known and may change as new proposals are put in place

there is currently an ACMA Proposal (thanks /u/Archy99) proposing that even partially compatible devices should be blocked from VoLTE if either standard calling OR emergency calling will be impacted, to avoid situations where partially compatible devices cause consumers issues during an emergency.

What about other devices that rely on 3G?

There is also unknown list non-mobile handset related products spanning from farm equipment to emergency lift phones (any anything in between) that may also become inoperable by this shutdown.

More information

Australia is one of the first countries that will shut down both their 3G and 2G networks, as the guinea-pig region, little has been done to investigate what the true impact will be.

more general information (may now be outdated): https://www.whistleout.com.au/MobilePhones/Guides/Australian-3G-network-shutdown-what-you-need-to-know

There has been a number of other articles over the last few months discussing this issue where you can read more:

• [Mobile 3G Shutdown will block working 4G/5G Phones alongside other key services] (https://medium.com/@jamesdwho/australias-3g-shutdown-telcos-to-block-working-4g-5g-phones-2bf41e95de8a)
• [Farmers worried about connectivity as 3G shutdown looms] (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-19/looming-telstra-4g-shift-wheatbelt-farmers-worried-connectivity/104304458)
• Telstra and Optus asked to "voluntarily" delay 3G shutdowns

You can also find these still on the fontpage of the subreddit

Welcome to AusTechnology. Feel free to use this thread to chat, self-post, or ask questions.

Other places with useful Australian focused technology discussion

/r/nbn - Everything NBN related

/r/opticomm - if you are unfortunate enough to live in a property with opticomm and not NBN

Whirlpool forums - Already a huge gathering of aussie tech members on whirlpool