3G shutdown ‘does not remove coverage’ for regional Victorians

Farmers and first responders have reported a “noticeable” fall in phone coverage. But a major telecommunications company says the 3G shutdown is not the cause.

Rural Victorians are continuing to report widespread issues with their phone coverage - but a major mobile network says the 3G shutoff is not the cause.

Bushfire helicopter pilot Leah Colbert, who is based out of Benalla, said she had noticed a significant difference in coverage quality, and believed it was due to the 5G network.

Ms Colbert needed to switch her phone to 4G only and make phone calls using Wi-Fi for “mildly better” coverage.

“It’s hard to call in to respond to fires sometimes, I’ve got two Telstra phones. Sometimes it’s easier for me to call by the radios instead,” she said.

“The dispatch comes by pager or phone. I need to leave the house, cross the road and get in the right spot to talk to the people dispatching me.

“I called to complain but because I called from a company phone they wouldn’t take my complaint because I wasn’t the account holder.”

It comes amid a parliamentary inquiry on the 3G shutoff, with a report due next week.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Brett Hosking.

Victorian Farmers Federation president and Quambatook farmer Brett Hosking said the VFF had several reports of farmers with reduced coverage who had purchased booster kits for vehicles.

“It’s untrue to say the coverage is still in all the places it was previously, because it simply isn’t,” Mr Hosking said.

“Farmers knew we weren’t prepared because of how often it said 3G on their screen, and it’s proven absolutely true.”

Mr Hosking believed it was a safety and wellbeing issue, and hoped organisations would investigate alternatives, such as intercarrier roaming, to ensure rural connectivity.

“This isn’t about any one organisation, this is about people’s lives,” Mr Hosking said.

The Weekly Times asked both Optus and Telstra about any coverage or signal changes in regional areas and customer reports.

Telstra regional general manager Steve Tinker said the 3G shutdown was necessary, but transitioning to new technology was “complex”.

He said they upgraded 12,000 mobile sites, implemented 5G at 500 towns, provided 19,000 new phones free of charge to certain customers, and launched a 3G helpline.

“We’ve been able to start repurposing spectrum used for this old network to keep growing 5G, including to places like Halls Gap, Maroona and Tarrawingee,” he said.

An Optus spokesman said the 3G shutoff meant they could provide better quality 4G services and broad 5G coverage in regional areas.

“The 3G switch off does not remove coverage for customers. Our 4G network is larger than our 3G network.”

During a recent senate inquiry, Optus head of new products Harvey Wright said fewer than 1 per cent of total complaints received since September were related to the 3G shutdown.

Originally published as 3G shutdown ‘does not remove coverage’ for regional Victorians