The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) and Regional Tech Hub (RTH) are issuing a final reminder to Australian farmers and those living in the bush that 3G devices may stop working as the 3G mobile network is progressively shut down from today until 4 November.
NFF President David Jochinke warned: "If you haven't checked or replaced your devices, it's now or never. Don't wait until you need it to find out it doesn't work. It's a safety issue first and foremost. This is no longer a job for tomorrow."
The NFF is also encouraging farmers to not ignore any 3G shutdown issues.
"If an issue arises, I'm urging farmers not to sit on their hands. The sooner you report the issue to Telstra, Optus, or to the Regional Tech Hub, the sooner it gets addressed," Mr Jochinke said.
"Information is critical to ensuring that this transition has positive outcomes for rural communities, and we must do our part."
Regional Tech Hub General Manager Jen Medway said the independent advisory service had fielded hundreds of enquiries from people about what they needed to do, but about 60,000 3G-only enabled handsets were still in use around Australia.
From 28 October, Telstra and Optus will disconnect mobile phones unable to connect to Triple Zero (000), as part of the Australian Communications and Media Authority's updated emergency call regulations addressing the 3G network shutdown.
"In a lot of cases, these affected handsets have been purchased overseas and are not compatible with Australia's Triple Zero system. If you have one of these phones, you need to upgrade your device as it will simply not connect to the network after today," Ms Medway said.
"Devices aren't the only technology impacted. There's a list as long as my arm of other devices that also use the 3G network and simply won't work post shutdown. These may include medical devices, security cameras, dog collars and common farm equipment like GPS systems, weather stations and water monitoring cameras.
"Make sure you check what network your device uses and upgrade it immediately if it's 3G-only enabled. The best advice is if you're unsure, contact the manufacturer."
If you have any concerns about your service quality, speed or coverage post 3G network shutdown, contact your network provider as soon as possible.
