Vodafone First To Go Ahead With 3G Shutdown This Month.
Vodafone First To Go – Vodafone will be the first carrier to go ahead with the long planned 3G shutdown, turning the service off on December 15.
Telstra, Optus and Vodafone have all phased out parts of their 3G networks and have refarmed 3G spectrum to widen 4G and 5G services.
Vodafone’s 3G network carries less than 1 per cent of the network’s total mobile data traffic but long bandwidth low data rate 3G comms will be missed in regional and remote applications, where its ability to propagate hundreds of square kilometres from a single tower will be missed.
Newer technologies like 4G and 5G are far superior in terms of their data rate but they don’t have the distance penetration of 3G and there are locations where this will create comms holes that have not existed since 2006.
Vodafone First To Go Ahead With 3G Shutdown
For security systems in cities and towns the loss of 3G won’t have much impact, with most systems having transitioned to 4G LTE or cabled services. Regional applications may be different, and installers and end users will likely appreciate that Telstra and Optus are giving a longer period of grace.
“The 3G switch-off will only impact a small number of our customers who have 3G-only devices, and our priority is to ensure they have a 4G or 5G device prior to December 2023,” a Vodafone spokesperson said earlier in the year.
All of Telstra’s 3G services will shut down by 30 June 2024 after 18 years. Optus will be the last to close its 3G network from September 2024.
“From September 2024, we’ll be repurposing our 3G technology to boost the capacity, speed and reliability of our 4G network and to rollout 5G to even more Australians,” Optus said.
You can find out more about 4G LTE development and evolution here or read more SEN news here.
“Vodafone First To Go Ahead With 3G Shutdown This Month.”
