3G Network Service Closure Countdown

Your network experience should improve, and in most cases you’ll notice a substantial improvement in speeds when you move from 3G-only coverage to 4G coverage. Our 4G service accesses greater bandwidth and is more efficient than 3G, leading to higher end-user speeds.

The speed you experience is determined by a range of factors including how close you are to a tower, how much traffic the site is carrying, if there’s any obstructions impeding the network (i.e. buildings, hills, vegetation etc.) and what sort of device you’re using.

Anything that only connects to the Telstra 3G network will be affected by this closure. This includes:

• Mobile phones
• Tablets
• Mobile Broadband modems
• Smart watches and wearables
• IoT and M2M devices
• Repeaters and smart antennas
• Medical alert devices
• NextG Wireless Link

3G-only IoT devices will not work on Telstra’s 4G network. This includes some IoT and network extension devices that operate on the 3G network only, such as some EFTPOS machines and 3G only antennas.

You’ll need to upgrade all 3G-only IoT devices. If you need help transitioning or finding a suitable replacement device, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

For Australians traveling overseas, International Roaming will continue to operate as it does today, as long as your device is compatible with the roaming partner’s network. People travelling to Australia will need a device compatible with our 4G network to connect with Telstra.

If you have a 4G or 5G mobile device, you’ll see the 4G symbol appear at the top right of the device if 4G is available in your location. You can check Telstra’s coverage and rollout maps here.

Although the 3G network has typically had a larger footprint than that compared to 4G, that doesn’t mean 4G has lesser capabilities. In fact, Telstra has limited the power of the 4G network to ensure some older devices, specifically those that used 4G for data but needed 3G to make voice calls, could always connect within Telstra’s publicised coverage maps.

As we approach our 3G closure, we’re gradually increasing the power of our 4G network to achieve coverage equivalent to 3G.

An easy way to check if your device is compatible is to look for ‘4G’ or ‘5G’ on the screen. If it only says ‘3G’ now or when you make a voice call, you probably need to replace it to stay connected.

Apple devices

1. Go to Settings
2. Go to Mobile
3. Go to Mobile Data options
4. Go to Voice and Data
5. Select automatic. If automatic isn’t an option, select 4G.
    

Android devices

1. Go to Settings
2. Go to Network and internet
3. Go to Mobile Network
4. Go to Preferred network type
5. Select automatic. If automatic isn’t an option, select 4G.