It has been more than 80 days since Telstra and Optus flicked the switch on the 3G mobile network. Hundreds of regional and remote Australians say they can no longer rely on the network and struggle to make calls.

In short:

Regional and rural Australians say their ability to make phone calls has dramatically reduced since the 3G network was switched off in October.

Telstra and Optus shut down 3G to boost the 4G and 5G networks, claiming customer coverage would benefit as a result.

What’s next:

The federal government says there may be a need for regulatory intervention if the situation does not improve.

  • vividspecter@lemm.eeEnglish
    10·
    2 days ago

    The reason why enabling 3G would improve coverage is because low radio frequencies do travel further and are less affected by interference.

    Both 4G and 5G support low frequencies. The protocols have nothing to do with the frequencies they support, although it can seem that way particularly with 5G, which only used high frequencies when it was initially rolled out.