Comment on Telstra, Optus to delay 3G network closure amid public safety concerns
hitmyspot@aussie.zone 2 months agoBetter allocation of spectrum is not just for social media. That’s like saying nbn was not needed as what we had before was fast enough for email.
While, we should not reduce coverage just to increase band with, we should not dismiss the imoirtnace of band with and the limited available spectrum.
Certainly in less populous areas where spectrum band with is not a problem, perhaps we could keep 3g coverage.
Better allocation of spectrum is not just for social media. That’s like saying nbn was not needed as what we had before was fast enough for email.
Kind of disagree. NBN didnt cost network to deploy. Well, kind of but kind of not. What does faster netflix mean to someone in a fringe 3g area when we upgrade their 5GN that they cant get anyway?
Wow, really, because my copper line with a dedicated power source to be always on is now gone from my house.
Irrespective of the nbn, dismissing bandwdth increases as unneeded as peoples internet use doesn’t meet your standards reeks of tony Abbott complaining about nbn as gamers would waste more time online.
I dont think you “get” it. I’m saying people are going to be cut off. 5g simply doesnt reach as far, its coverage range is greatly reduced compared to 3g or even 4g. And there is no solution for that. the telcos sure as shit arnt gonna go out there and build a bunch more towers for no one except a koala or 2 to regularly use. We’re cutting the service to a not 0% of the population.
This might be fine in Europe, But not a large country like us.
get it. I dont think we should dismiss using more bandwith as pointless.
I also think its unreasonable to expect a private company maintain an unprofitable portion of the network. If we wanted coverage like that, it should be part of their licence to ensure its like for like. I dont know stats in Australia but I known in the USA which is more deregulated than here, they are building .ore towers to maintain coverage.
We are a big country, but as much as the stereotyoe is bush, we have more people in urban areas. That doesn’t make us smaller to provide coverage but I’d be surprised if we aren’t building more towers too. Anybtine there ISNA switch in tech, there will be winners and losers. We need to ensure more winners than losers.
Dismissing the improvements as unnecessary or unhelpful doesn’t lead to constructive discussion.
Baku@aussie.zone 2 months ago
I don’t think anyone’s really suggesting we keep 3g in the metro areas. Almost the entirety of the greater Melbourne area has 4g, with a fair chunk having 5g, and I think most major cities in the country have almost complete 4g coverage.
But in the country, there’s so many places I’ve been through, even in the last few months, where I’ve only had 3g/H+, that I also don’t foresee them rolling out 4g to any time soon, let alone the any time this decade. 3g can travel further than 4g, and a lot further than 5g, which means it’s all well and good that they’ve converted all of their 3g towers to also have 4g dishes, but unless they actually build new 4g towers, it’s still a net downgrade.
hitmyspot@aussie.zone 2 months ago
The article points out that consumer phones aren’t an issue. Its things like lifts with a 3g fallback for emergencies, with non4g capabikitybthat is the issue.
That’s the issue. They havnt planned for anything except consumer devices. Android is now recommending 2g be disabled for security, also, so less devices will try to connect to older network infrastructure over time.
I dont see how the telco vsnt see what devices are connecting and where, given their Sims are linked tons customer when they ping a tower. Surely they can identify the devices if they wanted. It might be there are just too many.
Salvo@aussie.zone 2 months ago
Consumer phones in regional areas are still an issue. As @baku said, 3G has better range than 4G (which has better range than 5G). If someone in the middle of the bush, or on a country road needs to use their 5G phone, they may not have coverage.
I have a friend that had to drive 10km with a cracked skull, ribs and broken arm and leg because he didn’t have coverage on his farm. He now has 3G coverage, but not 4G.
FerdiMagellan@aus.social 2 months ago
@hitmyspot @Baku
I have a 4G phone. #Optus has been telling me for months it will no longer work when they switch 3G off.
They won’t tell me why though.
Taleya@aussie.zone 2 months ago
it aint LTE
zurohki@aussie.zone 2 months ago
No VoLTE, probably. A bunch of early 4G phones drop back to 3G to make voice calls.
Baku@aussie.zone 2 months ago
The issue is two fold. The first devices which don’t support 4g, and the second is the loss of coverage with the decommissioning of 3G. That’s what my last comment focussed on.
vividspecter@lemm.ee 2 months ago
They are replacing 3g coverage with 4g equivalents (low frequency bands) so it shouldn’t get worse. And I don’t believe there is any other technical advantage to 3g over long distances but I’m not expert.
FerdiMagellan@aus.social 2 months ago
@vividspecter @Baku
It was suggested to me that they have no intention of deploying old 3G resources to 4G. They will go straight to 5G which is why our 4G phones will no longer work.
They have been sending endless messages that I have to buy a new phone but refuse to say why.
rcbrk@lemmy.ml 2 months ago
Some 4G phones don’t support 4G calling correctly or with all networks.
Check whether your phone actually uses 4G (VoLTE) for calls – to sort-of test this, make a call while connected to mobile data and note whether the signal meter’s 4G indication drops to 3G(H+/HSPA) or something during the call.
A more insidious version of this issue is that some phones do VoLTE just fine, but only use 3G for 000 calls.
Some phones only support VoLTE with some networks. There’s a chance that an appropriate firmware upgrade could add support for some network/device combos.