All three major telcos have been warning customers to make sure they upgrade from 3G-only devices, but also to check if their 4G and 5G devices have something called Voice over LTE (VoLTE), so that they don’t get caught out when 3G networks shut down.
Telstra and Optus 3G shutdowns
Telstra: June 30, 2024
Other affected carriers using the Telstra network include:
- ALDI Mobile
- Belong
- Boost Mobile
- Exetel
- Lycamobile
- MATE
- More
- numobile
- Superloop
- Tangerine
- Woolworths Mobile
Optus: September, 2024
Other affected carriers using the Optus network include:
- amaysim
- Aussie Broadband
- Catch Connect
- Circles.Life
- Coles Mobile
- Dodo
- iPrimus
- Moose Mobile
- Southern Phone
- SpinTel
- Yomojo
The 25 most common devices which may be affected
According to the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association.
- Alcatel 2038
- Alcatel OneTouch 2045
- Apple iPhone 5
- Apple iPhone 5C
- Apple iPhone 5S
- Aspera A42
- Doro PhoneEasy 623 OPTUS
- Doro 6521
- Google Pixel 2 XL
- Huawei E5331
- Huawei E5251s-2
- Huawei Y6 Prime
- Nokia 301
- Oppo A57
- Oppo F1s
- Oppo F5 Youth
- Optus X Smart
- Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini
- Samsung Galaxy S5
- ZTE Blade A0605
They are shutting down 3G to reclaim the bandwidth to use for 5G. Spectrum is precious to the carriers and it’s not going to sit unused.
They are completely turn off analog, it’s all digital from here forward, which saves a lot of bandwidth. It will be worth it. Shutting down 3G will allow them to turn up 5G, it’s a necessary step to reach the promises of 5G.
This already happened with the previous generations but there were fewer devices, landlines were still common, and there were tech reasons to upgrade regularly.
Now people are holding onto devices for a decade. It’s not a significant number but even 1% in an age where cellphones are often the only form of communication it’s a lot of people.
And it’s critical that people know this is happening since they will lose the ability to contact emergency services.