Today’s Senate inquiry report into the 3G shutdown confirms that millions of Australian householders and businesses have been let down by a Government that took too long to act.
The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee has delivered a damning interim report into the planned 3G shutdown.
It’s recommended the Communications Minister urgently meet with Telstra and Optus to seek their agreement to extend the shutdown of the 3G network, and if they refuse, she should order the delay herself. The inquiry also said more should be done to understand the impacts of the shutdown on non-phone devices such as medical alerts and fire alarms and do more to support their users.
The inquiry report confirmed that the Government was warned about the problems of 4G phones not being able to call the emergency triple zero service as far back as June and July last year.
It’s also clear that the Government didn’t start to take the mounting concerns about the 3G shutdown seriously until months later.
The Government spent too long being a weak and ineffectual by-stander in the shutdown process.
This was a shutdown which was announced five years ago. We are only in the mess now because of a Government that failed to act quickly on the warnings and then moved at dial-up speed.
We are now seeing a desperate scramble with Telstra due to shut down their services in less than a month and Optus set to follow soon after.
I call on the Minister to end the uncertainty for consumers and the telecommunications industry, announce her plans for the 3G shutdown and explain how the Government will fix this mess.
Shadow Minister for Communications
Member for Banks
Hon. David Coleman MP