August 7, 2023
Telstra it will be switching off its 3G mobile phone network on June 30 next year.
A spokesperson has warned that some devices, including phone handsets, medical devices, devices in machinery and EFTPOS machines – may need to be updated or replaced ahead of the closure.
The spokesperson said that once the 3G network was closed, the spectrum would repurposed to allow for an expansion of the 5G network.
“When 3G launched in 2006 we used our mobile phones for calls, texting and accessing basic information online,” the spokesperson said.
“Today, demand for mobile data is growing by around 30 per cent each year.
“Traffic on our 3G network has declined significantly and continues to do so as we modernise our network with newer and better technologies.”
Telstra first announced the future closure of its 3G network in October 2019.
Since then, the corporation has been upgrading areas that only have Telstra 3G coverage to the faster 4G technology.
Telstra is not the only carrier to abandon 3G technology.
Vodafone has announced it will shutting down its 3G network by the end of this year, and the Optus 3G network will close in September next year.
Old mobile phone technologies have been switched off before in Australia.
Telstra’s CDMA network – which was popular in rural areas – was closed in 2008 and the GSM (2G) network was shut in 2016.
