“That ICPA (Aust) asks the Minister for Communications for a guaranteed action plan including an appropriate timeline should the switch from 3G to 4G not deliver the ‘equivalent or better coverage’ roll-out proposed for families who have students relying on the service for education, care and safety.”
Members are sceptical about the reliability of 4G because there have been noticeable reductions in service whilst the transition has been implemented on local towers. Emergency calls are not even being able to be made in some cases.
Mobile connectivity is very important for rural and remote families. The importance of service is for education, care and safety of children.
One example of the deterioration is that for some members who have the NGWL for landlines - a service that traditionally has relied on 3G technology - the option offered is now Starlink, this potentially reduces capacity and preparation for emergencies because if the power goes out, the landline will also go down, rendering no communications at all. It also means that a consumer is reliant on one platform for all their communications, instead of the traditional landline and satellite internet, where if one service is down usually the other remains.
Another issue of concern is that remote families on the outside of the 3G mapping have been able to get 3G with the use of boosters, but because they are outside the mapping, there is no guarantee by Telstra that they will get 4G. In many instances, users with 3G Boosters, over the years have removed their landline service because having access to mobile connectivity gave them suitable voice call access. There is now uncertainty and risk that these people could be facing the reality of a reduced voice service or no voice call service with unlikelihood of reconnecting their landline due to ageing HCRC infrastructure.
It is concerning that the Universal Service Obligation for a baseline landline has deteriorated because of the 3G 4G switch.
