On October 28th, Australia will switch off its 3G mobile network. This will have an significant impact for many users. Some older 4G and 5G phones that do not support the VoLTE (Voice over LTE) standard, will no longer be able to make any calls. This includes emergency calls to 000. This means that users with such devices are forced to upgrade to a newer mobile that supports the VoLTE standard, to ensure they are not stuck without a mobile or stuck not being able to make emergency calls to 000.

This also has a massive impact on phones that are purchased outside of Australia as they may not be compatible with local networks due to differences in frequency bands, rendering them unusable. This could be particularly problematic for expatriates and international students who rely on their foreign-purchased devices.

Tourists visiting Australia may also face challenges as their mobile phones might not connect to Australian networks or allow them to make emergency calls. This could pose a significant safety risk, especially in emergency situations where contacting 000 is crucial. Furthermore, Australians traveling overseas might find their phones unable to connect to foreign networks if they rely on 3G, impacting their ability to stay connected while abroad. 

Many other sectors will also be affected, including the agriculture industry & medical industry. Many pieces of farming equipment, such as water pumps, weather stations, soil monitors, and security systems, rely on 3G signals to function, as well as EFTPOS machines and some medical equipment, such as personal medical alarms, insulin pumps, and pacemakers.

The environmental impact of this transition is considerable, as millions of perfectly working devices will be rendered useless. This forced obsolescence contributes to the growing problem of electronic waste.

There is a petition that has been made by James Parker, who has been doing a lot of work into providing the government with information on why we shouldn't be shutting down our 3G network. The link is below if you would like to sign it: 

3G Shutdown Petition

To check if your mobile is compatible with VoLTE (Voice over LTE), Hugh Jeffery's has created an app that you can download to check to see. Click on one of the buttons below to download

To learn more about this, click the link below to watch a more detailed video by Hugh Jeffery's:

Australia To Block Internationally Purchased 4G/5G Phones As Part of 3G Shutdown