With nearly 200,000 Australians relying on 3G coverage, rural residents are especially concerned they will be left without mobile service if the shutdown proceeds.
The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Senate Committee has handed down its interim report into the shutdown of the 3G mobile network.Some rural Australians are calling for mobile phone towers to be built as Telstra and Optus attempt to get customers to update devices.
Surrounded by dense bushland and hills where granite rock stands like giant statues, the family uses mobile phone carrier Telstra and only gets 3G mobile phone connectivity., Jess Barber said she was worried they would not have the phone coverage to provide emergency warnings and run their business."In areas where there is none, 3G is our predominant mobile coverage; in some areas, it's black spots.
It also wanted the government and industry to show they knew how many devices would not be able to connect to the mobile phone network when 3G was shut down, and phone carriers to make all "reasonable efforts" to contact those customers.Ms Barber said the government and industry needed to build more mobile phone towers before even considering switching off the 3G network.
"Any delay to the closure delays our ability to fully utilise 4G and 5G in regional Australia, leaving customers with an aging network." In a post online, he also wrote: "In a very small number of areas where 4G coverage is not yet available, rest assured, we will not be shutting off 3G until a replacement 4G service is available."Submissions closed last week on the federal government's three-yearly review of regional telecommunications, which in the past has led to the Mobile Black Spot program and the national audit of mobile coverage."We are challenged by the geography of the land," Ms Barber said.
4G Telstra Mobile Phone Mobile Phone Towers Optus Michelle Rowland Minister For Communications Senate Australian Parliament Federal Government Service Coverage Mobile Network
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