The reality of Australia’s 3G shutdown needs to sink in before it comes back to bite our essential services
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Loading... - Bella Indiana
- 12 Apr 2023
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Since 2003, thousands of IoT devices and systems have benefitted from the arrival of 3G in Australia. The network has served as the backbone of many industries which have relied on it to stay connected and transmit critical data. From EFTPOS machines to keeping ambulance fleets connected, 3G has become a utility many organisations cannot function without.
But as we head towards the shutdown of Telstra’s 3G network, our reliance on 3G puts many industries and services at risk. Unlike other technological transitions, Telstra’s switch-off is finite. After June 2024, the signal will be turned off, making many devices and systems redundant.
To ensure Australia’s critical services are not impacted and businesses successfully transition to 4G, we need to focus on three key things: educating the market on the risks of doing nothing, clearly articulating the steps organisations need to take before June 2024 and working with industry and government to ensure no business is left behind.
The evolution of Australia’s carrier network
Every generation of technology reaches a point of obsolescence before it is superseded. When it was released in 1991, 2G technology was revolutionary, with 40kbps speeds. However, it has long since been eclipsed by 3G (2Mbps) and 4G LTE (150Mbps), and now with 5G (1Gbps).
The evolution of the carrier network has two different objectives. The first is to increase data speeds. The second is to better meet the needs of IoT devices, which often only transmit small amounts of data and therefore do not require high data bandwidth but need long battery life and greater coverage. For carriers to roll out these new network services, they need to shut down older networks to re-farm the spectrum bands.
For this reason, telcos in Australia have decided to repurpose the 3G spectrum band. Telstra has confirmed it will shut down its 3G network on June 30, 2024, with Vodafone flicking the switch a few months earlier on December 15, 2023. Optus has yet to give a hard date but has started reallocating its 3G 2100MHz spectrum band. Read More..
