Telecommunications

Don't be a 3G switch-off casualty

Emily Carter — Fri, 31 May 2024 06:41:00 +0000

Don't be a 3G switch-off casualty Emily Carter Fri, 05/31/2024 - 16:41

31 May 2024

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson interview with Dusty Fitzpatrick.

2BS Bathurst

Subject: Don’t be a 3G switch-off casualty

Dusty Fitzpatrick

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson has urged small, family and farming businesses to make sure they're not caught out by the 3G switch-off happening in August and September. Bruce joins us now, good afternoon.

Bruce Billson

Dusty, great to be with you and the listeners.

Dusty Fitzpatrick

Wonderful to have your company this afternoon. Could you talk us through how significant the potential impact is of the 3G switch-off for small businesses, particularly those in rural areas?

Bruce Billson

It been a big deal and it still is a big deal and it's coming to a real crunch point after some years that we've known 3G was going to be turned off. The TPG and Vodafone networks switched off 3G already, and we know that Optus is planning to switch off its 3G network on the 1st of September and Telstra is doing the same on the 31st of August.

Why I've tried to raise awareness and bring attention to this, is that for a lot of rural and regional and farming and small businesses, they've got 3G technology embedded in the things that they use as a central part of their business. So, most people know the 3G handsets that you might use for phones and texting, they've be pretty alert that that's got a real shelf life to it. And most people have taken action to remedy that.

But what’s less clear is you look at some of the older EFTPOS terminals, look at some security systems, even asset tracking tools. And for the farming community, some of the water and land environmental management wireless systems actually have 3G behind them as the communication that makes that kit, that technology, actually function.

So, most people don't focus on that underlying technology for the wireless aspect of that kit. They focus on the water monitoring effectiveness, the microclimate analysis, opening and shutting gates or tracking assets. And even in rural and regional areas, I know at some of the fuel stations now, you've got capacity to fill up with diesel and the like and the EFTPOS terminal that sits there to help enable that transaction, like with some vending machines, Dusty, actually has 3G technology sitting behind it.

So that's why I'm saying to people, don't become a fatality of the 3G turn off, check the functionality of the kit and technology that may well be using it and take action before that kit becomes dysfunctional.

Dusty Fitzpatrick

What steps do you recommend small businesses take to determine if their devices will be affected?

Bruce Billson

Well, a couple of things you can do. First of all, check yourselves. I mean, if there's still people with owner's manuals and technical specifications and the like, check on those things.

Next step I would probably do would be to reach out to your supplier. So, if you've got a rural supply industry that may have provided you with the water tank opening and shutting sort of technology, just checking with them.

And the other thing is you can jump online. There's a couple of resources. Telstra has got some on its website about mobile devices, so has Optus. But there's also the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, which has set up a website www.3gclosure.com.au

That's some resources where you can go and check that out. I guess my message is don't be caught out by it. Take some steps now, make some inquiries and reassure yourself that something vital to your business is not all of a sudden going to turn up the toes just because the 3G network’s been switched off.

Dusty Fitzpatrick

Important message this afternoon. Bruce, as always, thank you for your time.

Bruce Billson

Good to be with you Dusty.

3G switch-off warning for small business

Emily Carter — Fri, 31 May 2024 03:53:18 +0000

3G switch-off warning for small business Emily Carter Fri, 05/31/2024 - 13:53

31 May 2024

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson interview with Becc Chave.

ABC Radio SA South East

Subject: 3G switch-off warning for small business

Becc Chave

Australia's 3G networks are closing down. You still got a bit of time before this does start impacting you, but it is important that Australians know if they will be impacted. If you've received notice from your service provider to upgrade your device, don't put off taking action. That's the message coming from the AMTA and the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. Bruce Billson is the Ombudsman. Bruce, good morning. Thanks for your time on the program.

Bruce Billson

Awesome to be with you and your listeners.

Becc Chave

Do you think businesses have been given enough time to prepare for this?

Bruce Billson

It's been a slow train coming, this one, but I suppose it's only when you see the headlight you think, this is getting closer. I think it's been four or five years in the making. It's not been any surprise that the 3G network is coming to an end and I think for people with their handheld phone devices and the like, they'll been pretty alert to it.

What I’m concerned about, though, is there's an awful lot of technology kit equipment, used in everyday small, family and farming businesses that's actually powered by 3G. And these are the sorts of things you probably don't think about what the technology for the wireless link is. You're thinking more about what the piece of kit actually does. And so it can actually slip past you that when the 3G network shut off, you might find your, you know, old style EFTPOS machine no longer working, security cameras, you know, some of the asset tracking tools, particularly for our farming communities, the water and environmental monitoring technology and those micro-climate technologies. Many of those operate on a wireless operating system and a significant number have 3G as the back end of those systems.

So, I'm really saying to people, don't be a casualty of the 3G shut-off, check your device functionality, talk to the suppliers, talk with the telcos, and make sure you're aware of what beyond your phone handset may be affected by the planned shutdown

Becc Chave

Is this putting on additional costs to business owners or landowners who have to navigate this change? We had a text through earlier this morning, Bruce, from Sharon and she said, I have to replace my Telstra repeater and antenna because of the 3G network shutting down. This system costs me $1,700. The new system is costing me $2,900 just to get reasonable, consistent service.

Bruce Billson

The answer is yes. Just when margins are being squeezed in small, family and farming businesses, for many, this will be another unwelcome expense. 3G - I won't bore you listeners with all the technical jargon around it - but 3G has got a longer reach. The thickness of the pipe in terms of the volume of data it carries is thinner than 4G and 5G, but it stretches further. So, in rural and regional and remote areas, 3G has sort of been, you know, appreciated for the long range.

So, in some cases, even when you're switching over to 4G, you might find that that new signal doesn't reach as far. That can be an issue. And as your texter has highlighted, a lot of on property telephony and Wi-Fi extensions and the like may well be using 3G.

But there's a lot of less obvious things too. Let's talk about vending machines. You know they remotely advise the people that own them that the stock levels are down and away you go. Some of the card payment tap-on things you see car parks, they've got 3G behind them as well. I saw reports that $500, $600, possibly more, to replace those payment tap-and-go systems, yet the things that they're attached to might only generate $1,000 of profit a year. And you can see what a hit that will be.

So, this is going to cost some people money. It is probably an unwelcome expense. It has been foreshadowed for a long time, but we're now getting to crunch point, and I'm just concerned people might find vital bits of their kit and technology they use in their everyday small, family and farming business is just not functioning because the 3G networks won't be available.

Becc Chave

Is this something you've been receiving calls about, or at least perhaps concerns that there hasn't been enough guidance through this.

Bruce Billson

We have had contact from a number of industry associations. I mean, some are very specific. I don't know how many surveyors might be in your listening audience, but they've got a little piece of kit called a total station. It maps out property boundaries and undulations and all that. Well, many of those pieces of kit use 3G as their communication method and that's been raised with us, along with some in the farming community around those remote distance monitoring technologies that are pretty common on larger farming properties, that a number of those will be in strife.

As well as some concerns about the telephony use itself. I touched earlier on the reach of 3G. For some people emergency call capability and the like is assisted by the longer reach of the signal on 3G, whereas the more sophisticated, able to carry more data signals that you get with 4G and 5G might not reach as far. And that's left some people are a little vulnerable.

That’s where it’s come up and I just thought the best thing I can do is almost as a community service notification Becc, if I could call it that, be aware that it's coming. Optus is looking to switch theirs off on the 1st of September. Telstra was going to go a bit earlier, but they've now decided to delay that until 31st of August. So, we're not too far away. And for those on TPG and Vodafone networks, their networks are already shut down. So, it's coming.

Becc Chave

A good message to get prepared. Bruce, thank you very much for your time on the program this morning.

Bruce Billson

Take care, Becc.

3G switch-off - small business warned not to be caught short

Emily Carter — Wed, 29 May 2024 07:15:04 +0000

3G switch-off - small business warned not to be caught short Emily Carter Wed, 05/29/2024 - 17:15

29 May 2024

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson interview with Leon Delaney.

Radio 2CC Canberra

Subject: 3G switch-off - small business warned not to be caught short

Leon Delaney

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, has warned small businesses about the upcoming 3G switch off. That's at the end of August and the beginning of September for the last two remaining telcos that still have 3G. Because we know Vodafone's already switched theirs off. Now the warning is, of course, that the switch off of 3G technology could very well impact on a lot more than just old-fashioned mobile phones.

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, good afternoon.

Bruce Billson

Leon, great to be with you and your listeners on this capital day.

Leon Delaney

It's a lovely day today, but it's not going to be quite so lovely on the weekend, is it? I mean, the timing is terrible.

Bruce Billson

Well, it's interesting thinking about the weekend and thinking about the broader Canberra region's audience. I mean, you can think of grape growers and other graziers and the like, who may well use remote technology to monitor weather conditions, rainfall opening and shutting gates. Those sorts of things or asset tracking tools.

So many of these things, including security systems and cameras and the like actually are powered off the 3G network. So, when that closure happens, you could well find yourself caught short.

And I guess my community service message is don't be a 3G casualty, check out your device capacity or something like that.

Leon Delaney

By crikey, Bruce, you really know what you're doing. That was an incredibly masterful segue from weather into the 3G close-down. That was brilliant.

Bruce Billson

Leon, we're living in the moment. You’ve got discerning listeners, and they just don't want, you know, puff and wind from me. They want me to get straight into it.

But that's the reality of it. You know, if you and I were running a transport business and we had tracking devices on our assets or even a hire business. If we're using security cameras, and the one that's probably most omnipresent, if I could use that word, are EFTPOS machines. Some of the earlier version EFTPOS machines at local shops and businesses that are used for merchant payments are powered off the 3G network.

So, when it's shut down, you risk being a 3G casualty if you haven't checked out your device functionality.

Leon Delaney

Now, we've known for quite some time that this is coming, and it's not exactly meant to be a surprise to anybody. But what might be surprising to people is the vast array of devices that might actually be impacted.

It's not just your mobile phone, it's not just your EFTPOS terminal. As you said, security systems, cameras, scanners, routers, tablets, smartwatches, asset tracking tools, even surveying instruments, water and environmental monitoring instruments. I mean, this is a very long list of things that are potentially affected, isn't it?

Bruce Billson

Well, it is. And we know that 3G, whilst it doesn't have the bandwidth or the pipe width that 4G and 5G has, it has good range. It can stretch further. For many people wanting good range and functional connectivity without deep, deep rich data needing to flow through it, 3G has been an attractive option.

We learned some years back, I think you and I were both much younger, when the CDMA network - remember that one?

Leon Delaney

Yes, the good old CDMA network.

Bruce Billson

Same thing happened. A lot of people were sitting there thinking, look, I've got the phone sorted, but why is this vital kit and systems and technology that's central to my business now not working? That’s the thing that I'm most concerned about.

Yes, we have had this 3G discussion for some time, and we've rightly had the discussion about rural and regional and remote communities appreciating the longer reach of a 3G signal and then saying it's vital for emergency services.

But when you're doing those sort of remote telemetry things, measuring the microclimate, soil conditions, rainfall and even looking after assets that rely upon that 3G communications link, that can all happen without too much knowledge. And all of a sudden, you're basically rendered unable to use that technology and your business is harmed.

Leon Delaney

We all saw the chaos when the Optus mobile network went down last year. You know, it's a similar kind of thing if you're not prepared for the change in technology. The thing that really caught me by surprise, though, is apparently, you've pointed out that even some 4G enabled devices actually still rely on elements of 3G. I wouldn't have expected that.

Bruce Billson

Yeah, and this is all about the way spectrum has become available over time. And you see different devices using different types of communications technology to get an efficient and cost-effective outcome. Because for people providing these services, they need to either pay for or have access to the spectrum within those bands. And if you've got only a certain amount of capability, well, that might be cached, if I could use that word, directed into the 4G space, whereas other parts of it might well be serviced by the 3G network.

So, what we're urging people to do is to have a think about that. Really think deeply about what you're using in your small and family and farming business. Contact suppliers just to check in if you're not sure. There's also some helpful websites that both Telstra and Optus are offering, and the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association’s got a good one, which is www.3Gclosure.com.au

Leon Delaney

Okay. So, the number for Telstra is 132 200. The number of Optus is 133 937 or get onto the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association website 3Gclosure.com.au

And I guess after all of this warning, there is no excuse. But the thing that really baffles me, Bruce, is that once upon a time it was enough to just know what you were doing in your own particular field of business. Now you've got to be a tech expert as well. It’s baffling, isn't it?

Bruce Billson

It's the changing nature of our economy because tech and digital engagement, there is research that points to improve productivity, resilience, profitability with the deeper your digital engagement.

So, people have reached for these technologies to improve their productivity, save on the mundane tasks, but it does mean we need to be attuned to those things.

In recent days I've been talking about using social media securely and putting out a bit of a guide for those businesses that rely upon those social media platforms as their primary channel to their customers. And what happens if your account hacked and all of a sudden, it's effectively like your shop being closed and shuttered over because some scammers got in and done nefarious things on your web presence.

These are the sorts of new challenges we’re navigating.

Leon Delaney

Or indeed if Elon Musk purchases your favourite social media platform and then changes the rules and you don't like it anymore.

Bruce Billson

I'll take that as a comment. Hang on, that’s another show.

Leon Delaney

Bruce, thanks very much for your time today. Bruce Billson, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.