By admin Tens of thousands of Australians risk being left in the lurch as their mobile network is upgraded.
Two of Australia’s largest telecommunications operators will switch off 3G services to customers as they look to modernize Australia’s telephone network.
The shutdown began late last year when Vodafone became the first telco to switch off its 3G network, with Telstra and Optus following suit by October 28.
There are mobile phones in Australia that only use the 3G network for voice calls and cannot make calls after switching to 4G.
Madeleine Achenza, who uses a four-year-old iPhone 11 with the amaysim network, was given just 11 days’ notice to upgrade her device. She said her phone company’s messages indicated she simply had to change her plans.
As part of the upgrade, she will need to buy a new phone or risk not being able to make calls, send texts or use the internet on her device.
“I was very frustrated when I found out I had to buy a new phone. My current phone, even though it’s four years old, works great and I didn’t budget for spending over $1,000 on a new one, so it’s really going to take a dent in my savings,” Achenza said.
NewsWire confirmed that 740,000 devices had to be replaced in Australia, a mix of older or overseas-made devices.