[LINK] itN: '3G shutdown to affect more customers' access to Triple Zero'

[Roger Clarke]

[ It's unclear whether this particular news is a bit of a beat-up, or 
indicates a serious failure by suppliers and regulators.

[ But I'm wondering what the magnitude of the obsolesence trap was.

[ Relying mostly on Wikipedia pages:

[ 3G beginnings:
[ -  May 2001 as a pre-release (test) of W-CDMA
[ -  In Australia, Hutchison/3 in June 2003, fully available 2006?

[ 4G beginnings:
[ -  In Australia from 2011/12

[ 3G-only new-device sales ended when?

[ Warnings of 3G closedown appear to have been 15 months or so
   (although Telstra claims to have given 5 years' notice?)

[ 3G closedown
[ -   In Australia, Dec 2023, mid-2024 and finally Aug 2024

[ Realistically, it's a maximum of nearly 20 years of life, with all 
early handsets, many mid-period handsets - and maybe some late-period 
handsets? - condemned to die with the network.

[ What's the longevity of handsets been like?

[ Some people are into fashion-purchasing, and many delight in the 
extended functionality that high-speed data-transmission has brought.

[ But many people *don't* live in the modern, 
eyes-glued-to-screen-crossing-the-street world, and use a handset as a 
mobile phone and SMS device.  Are there reasonably inexpensive options 
for them? ]


3G shutdown to affect more customers' access to Triple Zero
More than a million users at risk, if they don't change handsets.
Richard Chirgwin
itNews
Apr 9 2024 11:50AM
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/3g-shutdown-to-affect-more-customers-access-to-triple-zero-606795

More than a million users at risk, if they don't change handsets.

[ I'm not sure that 'risk' is an appropriate word, given that a 
considerable proportion of the >1m handsets won't work, period, and some 
proportion of those affected aren't techno-literate, and some proportion 
may feel the pinch when they go to buy a new phone and plan. ]


More than a million phones could be impacted by 3G network shutdowns 
later this year, a telecommunications working group set up to monitor 
the closures has told communications minister Michelle Rowland.

3G shutdown to affect more customers' access to Triple Zero
When Telstra and Optus close their 3G networks later this year, 
customers who haven’t updated their handsets will lose access to 
3G-based services.

The shutdown will also affect other applications, such as internet of 
things and medical alert devices.

Some older 4G handsets that don’t support voice-over-LTE revert to 3G 
for emergency calls, so will also be impacted.

In response to growing concerns in regional and remote communities, the 
government convened a working group to try to manage the issue.

The working group comprises Telstra, Optus, TPG Telecom and the 
Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA).

“A key concern for government is the subset of 4G-enabled devices that 
default to 3G when making emergency calls," Rowland said in a statement.

“I was first briefed by my department in early March that up to 740,000 
4G handsets may not be able to make emergency calls following the 
switchover, and this figure was recently revised to up to one million 
following the formal reporting request I made to industry.

[ Announcements of closure date back to late 2022 and early 2023, but 
no-one noticed that 3G-only phones weren't the only devices affected? ]


“I did not consider that consumers had enough awareness of this problem, 
or information to address it.

"That’s why I immediately requested industry stand up a working group to 
improve information sharing between mobile carriers, establish 
fortnightly reporting to government, and scale up customer communications.”

The working group will be reporting to the government on a fortnightly 
basis.

Opposition communications spokesperson David Coleman has called the 
minister “negligent”, telling the ABC the AMTA was first in touch with 
the government last November.

[ Nov 2023?  The switch-off dates for the networks were as early as Dec 
2023, and finish in May and Aug 2023. ]


This week, Telstra launched a tool to help customers find out if they're 
impacted by the shutdown.

As explained here, customers can text "3" to 3498, and Telstra will 
reply telling them if they need to take action.

[ https://www.telstra.com.au/exchange/3gxt-3g-closure-sms ]

[ It's not clear whether the replies address the 000 fallback issue. ]


-- 
Roger Clarke                            mailto:Roger.Clarke at xamax.com.au
T: +61 2 6288 6916   http://www.xamax.com.au  http://www.rogerclarke.com

Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd      78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA 

Visiting Professorial Fellow                          UNSW Law & Justice
Visiting Professor in Computer Science    Australian National University