The below is the opening statement by National Farmers' Federation General Manager of Rural Affairs, Charlotte Wundersitz, who appeared before the 3G Shutdown Senate Inquiry Public Hearing late yesterday.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today.
The livelihoods of Australian farming families are intrinsically tied to accessible, reliable, affordable, and high-quality connectivity.
Telstra and Optus commenced the shutdown of their respective 3G mobile networks in October 2024, with a promise to consumers of equivalent or improved coverage. Three months later, Australian farmers are not convinced that the major providers have delivered on that promise.
The NFF continues to hear widespread reports of reduced service availability and quality. Farmers are reporting that overall service quality has diminished post-shutdown; that includes more calls dropping out, cutting in and out, slow download speeds or no ability to load internet at all. The loss of fortuitous coverage, that is 'bonus coverage' that was available with 3G turned on but not guaranteed after the shutdown, has been significant. Areas, and in some cases entire properties, which had mostly reliable coverage have now become blackspots.
Farmers have been left with no choice but to fork out for expensive boosters, antennas - those who already had appropriate equipment have spent countless hours navigating complex software upgrades - and even after all of that many are still finding very basic connectivity a challenge.
We have said repeatedly that the situation on the ground is a safety issue and a productivity issue. With the shutdown coinciding with both harvest and fire danger season, rural communities are bearing the full weight of this fact.
To provide some examples, grain producer Scott Loughnan from Muckadilla, Queensland, cites significant issues post shutdown on the Warrego Highway, which has impacted local farmers' ability to communicate while carting grain during harvest. In time sensitive periods such as harvest, the ramifications of not being able to communicate can be significant and costly.
A mixed livestock and cropping farmer from southern New South Wales reports that they have been told they are in a guaranteed coverage area, yet consistently have dropouts. Between purchasing a cel-fi booster and upgrading farm equipment they estimate to have spent between $10,000-20,000 as a result of the 3G shutdown.
The Knuth family run a cattle operation out of Charters Towers. They can currently only make reliable calls on 20% of their property, in comparison to about 90% prior to the shutdown. A lack of reliable mobile coverage during calving made it difficult them to call for help, and reduced the efficiency of their operation.
As foreshadowed by the NFF and others throughout this inquiry, despite the gravity of concern we're hearing, rural Australians don't believe that reporting issues to their provider will lead to solutions. Put simply, people don't want to sit on hold for hours only to be told that they need to purchase more equipment or, worse, there is nothing to be done.
This isn't the first major telecommunications transition in Australia, and it certainly won't be the last. We cannot accept rural consumers as collateral damage of a process which first and foremost benefits city residents and providers' bottom lines.
The NFF made a commitment to hold providers accountable through this transition, and that's what we will continue to do. The status quo is not good enough. We acknowledge the launch of Telstra's 3G hotline last week, a welcome starting point to addressing the concerns of their customers. We will continue to call on all providers to step up, get out in rural communities and address these concerns.
