Months later after it has been done. Who to believe when the telcos are adamant there has been no change to coverage but many customers claim otherwise.
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3G is now gone. Forever. It is dead technology and I seem to remember this same complaining when 2G was decommissioned and remote users couldnât connect.
There may be coverage gaps, but with 3G now gone, the spectrum reallocation that was being held up by the few 3G users still around can be put to good use.
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Not only remote users. Initially I could not make a mobile call from my house or yard. I had to keep my landline. Things arent a lot better now. (Suburban Newcastle)
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I note that no one has commented about 4G LTE in the 700 MHz band. This is the lowest frequency used by mobile phones. This band was obtained by converting TV to digital and restacking TV channels which was completed in 2013.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority auctions spectrum like real estate auctions but for many millions of dollars. The telcos plans are to put the slow version of 5G broadband including telephony into the spectrum which was used for 3G thus saving many millions of dollars. The coverage areas are controlled by the frequency of transmission, the higher the frequency, the smaller the coverage area. This assumes the power of the transmitters and the sensitivity of the receivers is unchanged. As an example the high speed 5G uses the highest frequency of transmission used by the general public. The base stations have to be on street lighting poles 900 m apart. The signal will not penetrate building materials, wet trees or hills. The attraction is the very high speed.
To compare coverage, you need to know where a new slow speed 5G base station replaced a 3G base station and compare it with a 5G phone.
If the pattern repeats, when 6G is ready to rollout, and then 4G will be closed. This occurs around every 8 years, giving a mobile phone a maximum working life of 16 years.
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We live in a non urban area with NBN Wireless, Optus 4G and Telstra 4G, both previously 3G services. A polite observation is when Telstra and Optus performance (typically one bar near the window when indoors) appears to be more reliable since 3G has been shutdown. Optus in particular as it would often drop 4G calls or fall back to 3G. Both services use the lower bands with the towers some distance away.
Apologies to those who have related the experience of now being worse off. Experiences are what they are. Itâs possible many are better off, without knowing it.
Which bands are in use in a particular area for each technology at this point in time, one needs to go to the respective carrier to find out. And how it is today is not necessarily how it will be tomorrow.
Our experience is the NBN Wireless service has been both the most reliable and fastest but only since a major upgrade 12 months prior. Also best in respect of data being the lowest cost.
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The NBN connect to the internet including the telcos. Multi Technology Mix (MTM) | nbn . Mobile phones have a Wifi calling. which uses your internet connection via your Wifi modem. You must be within range of the WiFi modem which is generally within a house. What is Wi-Fi calling and SMS? - Telstra. There are videos demonstrating how to switch it on.
I should point out that mobile phone base stations have a coverage diameter of 10s of metres in pico base stations to the low 10s of km provided there are no obstructions in the way. The frequency used for mobile phones is limited to the horizon from the top of the tower.
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700 MHz has been mentioned in the Community previously. It has been noted that the 700 MHz (B28) & 800 MHz bands in 4G are the PPDR (Public Protection & Disaster Relief) bands for all the Asia Pacific areas including Australia and India. In Australia the band chosen was the 700 MHz frequency in 4G LTE for this purpose including the 000 calls.
Using 700 MHz in 4G technology allows more data to be transmitted than when 3G technology was used. It certainly does not reach the levels of data transmission that the higher frequencies do, still it is an improvement over 3G.
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Have a look at the massive sums the telcos are paying for spectrum Spectrum auctions | ACMA
DTV has lost their channels in the 700 MHz band in North America, and in Europe which has wider TV channels they have only lost the 800 MHZ band to the telcos.
It certainly is a profitable area for the Government, and the Telcos will be eager to recoup their expenditures from the purchasing the frequencies they will use.
This is always going to be a situation, commercial interests pay for running their businesses and claim the expenses against their tax liabilities, and Governments always seek ways to fund their business.
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I live within 38km in a direct line to Sydney CBD, I have 3 Telco towers within 2Km and I get no mobile coverage unless I leave my house walk 20 metres to the front fence and then I can get 1 bar. Donât even ask me about NBN. When 3G was still operating I could make a call from outside on the deck.
The only guarantee of communications is from a very slow signal on the landline, as we are 6Km from the exchange.
So to hear all the bull about how good 4G and 5G is, just makes glad I use my mobile phone as a phone only, saving me the problems that I hear about from other users.
Telstra is my carrier and they said i could get good reception if I fork out nearly 2000$ for an antenna on my roof.
The other solution offered was satellite, with the high cost of monthly fees, these satellite systems are designed for business or traders, that can claim on their tax, not for ordinary people.
I tried the local politicians, who say there are upgrades happening but not in my area.
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Do you have internet at home with Wifi?
If you do, change the settings in your phone to Wifi calling:
This will extend mobile coverage within the home allowing calls to be made, as well as sending and receiving SMS.
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Are you saying you do not have the NBN and rely on the Telstra maintained ADSL service over copper for internet? We discontinued ours more than18 months past. We are in a semi rural area with farming, and large acreage blocks. Similar issues for some of us with weak mobile coverage. Although we are no worse off and arguably slightly better with 4G now that 3G has been turned off. We put off the NBN (Fixed Wireless service) until a number of near neighbours had connected and were able to share their experiences. How do your neighbours connect to the NBN and so they have similar mobile service problems?
Some have been less fortunate.
During the roll out of the NBN there were observations and statistics describing home owners who were in near urban areas who would not benefit. IE properties which would not be connected through any of the fibre options including the lesser solution of FTTN. The alternative depending on location was NBN using the Fixed Wireless product or Satellite (SkyMuster) service. Important as a reliable NBN service with adequate speeds is essential if one is to use WiFi calling as an alternative where mobile service is unreliable/not possible.
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VoWiFi is a significant improvement over variable and weak mobile signals but it is not a panacea. Sometimes it works great and other times connections are as bad as ever, although IME a redial usually makes it better. It could be all or any of the device, the WiFi/router, the NBN connection, or vagaries of the SIM/telco. Anecdotally it seems some devices and services âstruggleâ to switch between mobile and VoWiFi modes with resultant uneven experiences.
If one is beyond their WiFi coverage back to whatever signal (or lack thereof) you have in your location.
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The standard of âphone performanceâ we have been left with (after 3G shutdown) is an absolute disgrace and contacting providers is to no avail. I believe they are (now) well aware of the issue but do not acknowledge that to the consumer. Offered a plan termination and refund but I donât believe that changing providers will result in improvement as I think I have what is best for my geographic location. May now have to contact the telecommunications ombudsman for advice
So long as their P/L statements remain well into the black they have no initiative to build more towers at $$$$$ to improve customer experiences.
No matter whose SIM one is using it relies on the Telstra, Telstra Wholesale, Optus, Optus Wholesale, or TPG-Vodaphone networks.
I doubt the TIO could or would be able to order any off them to build more towers but might order them to be more clear on how their services actually work rather than being able to âhide behindâ area maps where coverage is expected but reality is it is often missing.
âParliamentâ and âparliamentâ having a good chat with the TIO through modifying it legislative powers, or directly dictating to our telcos through legislation is required.
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In the latest May 2025 CHOICE magazine there is an updated article about the post 3G network issues. The online version dates from March but is very similar in content.
This online page may be CHOICE member content only
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The cited page is open to all but the linked reviews are mostly subscriber locked.
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Itâs not exclusively about the dollars though since the topography has to be suitable, and they have to be able to get access to the site and they have to be able to use the land.
Also, I believe a partial answer is handset-to-satellite technology, which can provide coverage where there are no towers, or where there are towers but the towers are not close enough. (That technology is already good enough for emergency text messages.)
If true, this is damning. (hot linked)
"Telstra has denied the claims made by Vodafone and TPG, though has been accused of making changes to its website following the allegations, including removing claims its network covers âmore Australians over an area of 3 million sq kmâ.
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It was interesting that TPG telecom made the allegations about Telstra coverage and soon after started TV advertising about doubling their much smaller coverage area.
It needs to be remembered that the frequencies used for mobile phone coverage are limited to line of sight, from to the top of the base station tower which can be blocked by the horizon & the terrain. Also base stations share frequencies so they time for the signal to travel the base station & back to ensure it is connected to the closest base station. In remote areas there are pico cells which have a coverage radius of 10âs of metres. Whilst nearly 100 % of account addresses have coverage, only around 27% of Australian land area is covered. Itâs not economic to do the rest. High Frequency two way radio is the cheapest followed by satellite when on the move.
