‘Triple-0 fears’: ACCC snubs telcos’ call for help on 3G shutdown

Many Australians won’t be able to call triple-0 when the 3G is switched off this year. But the competition regulator has refused to help telcos in recalling affected handsets.

The ACCC, led by chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, has rejected requests from telcos to issue a product recall on phones that won’t be able to call emergency services when 3G in switched off. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

The competition watchdog is refusing to use its product recall power to alert hundreds of thousands of Australians that their mobile phone might not be able to call triple-0 when 3G is turned off this year, despite appeals from the big telcos.

Telstra, Optus and TPG have met with an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, asking to use its recall powers to assist with a public awareness campaign and inform people if they can still call emergency services on their phones.

About 740,000 handsets are expected to be affected, including some older 4G phones and grey market imports – which aren’t approved by the telcos. TPG began switching its 3G network off last December, with Telstra set to follow in June and Optus in September.

The ACCC has rejected the telcos’ pleas because the 3G shutdown technically sits outside its recall powers, which are normally activated if a product is dangerous – a move that may delay the switch over from 3G to 4G.

“The affected mobile handsets do not have a characteristic that is likely to cause injury,” an ACCC spokeswoman said.

But the telcos argued that the affected devices were likely to exacerbate an injury or worsen someone’s health condition if they could not use their phone to call an ambulance, fire service or police.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is concerned hundreds of thousands of Australians won’t be able to call triple-0 when 3G is switched off. Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

The ACCC, has however, taken a firm stance – taking a literal interpretation of its recall powers.

“The affected mobile handsets may not be able to be used for emergency calls in the event of an injury, but they are not the cause of the injury,” the spokeswoman said.

“Suppliers can choose to undertake a voluntary product recall under the Australian Consumer Law recalls provisions if they consider a recall of a product they are supplying is necessary.”

But given some consumers have bought grey market devices – which come from overseas and are not sold by the carriers or the manufacturer’s local sales channels – issuing a supplier voluntary recall is tricky.

More Australians are also buying mobile phones from retailers other than the mobile carriers, making it difficult for the telcos to alert all affected customers. They hoped the ACCC could make the process easier by hosting the types of phones that switchover would render useless on its website.

Many Australians won’t be able to use their phones to call emergency services when the 3G is switched off completely in September.

But the regulator also rejected that request.

“The ACCC has provided advice to the MNOs about effectively communicating with impacted consumers,” the ACCC spokeswoman said.

Telstra began notifying its customers via text message last week, informing them their device may be affected. They can reply ‘3’ back to the message and Telstra can then determine if their phone needs to be upgraded.

“Once the network shuts down, these services will no longer be usable, unless you upgrade to a compatible device,” Telstra said.

“Since we announced the closure of our 3G network almost five years ago, we have seen a significant decline in 3G usage across our national network. In fact, 3G accounts for just 1 per cent of our total network traffic, however we want to make sure everyone is prepared and has an easy way to check the compatibility of their device.”

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman has question why it has taken so long for the government to act. Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has also expressed fears that Australians won’t be able to call triple-0 after the switch over from 3G to 4G is completed – an issue she said she first became aware of in March – and has flagged that the government may delay the move.

“The government is concerned customers in possession of particular 4G handsets may mistakenly believe their mobile device is unaffected post-switchover, as the handset could continue to operate normally for voice and data, except when trying to call triple-0,” Ms Rowland said last month.

“If warranted in the public interest, options exist under law for the government to consider regulatory intervention – including proposals for delays to planned switch overs, subject to required consultation and procedural processes.”

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman it has only been in the past few weeks that Australians have begun to be informed their phones might be useless after the 3G switchover.

“It’s very hard to believe that the Minister did not know about the coming problems regarding triple-0 calls after the 3G networks are shut off until March of this year,” Mr Coleman said.

“The minister was warned in June last year, but her office did not respond, and instead fobbed off the inquiry to her department. The department then responded in September, revealing that they were receiving quarterly updates from Telstra on the 3G shutdown.

“Had the minister taken action last year, we could have avoided this last-minute, desperate scramble to fix these issues. Instead, the public is now paying the price as the government tries to play catch-up.”