communications Archives - Malcolm Roberts

Labor Government Put Telco Profits Above Lives

Despite urgent Senate warnings in August, The Albanese Labor Government allowed telcos to proceed with the disastrous 3G shutdown, leaving over 1 million critical devices at risk. While other countries like France delayed until 2028, our government chose telco profits over public safety.

Many 4G device owners were surprised to wake up on the morning of the 3G shutdown to find their phone wasn’t working either.

I warned about this in August, yet the government did nothing. This is what happens when proper regulation takes a backseat to corporate interests.

Transcript

That the Senate take not of the explanation.

I’ll now explain to the chamber what it just heard. The Albanese Labor government is putting multinational telco company profits above human life, above Australian lives. For many people this is a matter of life and death. The Senate has pulled the minister in front of the chamber to explain:

… why the Government has failed to place a single condition on the 3G mobile network shutdown …

So 1,041,282 is the number of devices the telcos have told us will not function as sold when they shut the 3G network in just two months, yet the communications minister is sitting back and letting telcos Telstra and Optus just do it. That’s thorough for the Labor Party.

If our Senate had not fulfilled its role as the house of review and instead stood back and not intervened, telcos would have shut Australia’s 3G network in 10 days time. Revelations from our Senate inquiry into the 3G shutdown led to a two-month delay. In two months, the communications minister will let telcos switch off the 3G network, even if a million devices still rely on it.

I have simple questions for the communications minister: How much are telco companies, like Telstra and Singapore owned Optus, making from shutting down the network early? How much is an Australian life worth? Who will be responsible if telcos are allowed to flick the switch in two months and someone dies? There are Australians with 4G phones, not 3G phones, who will not be able to call triple 0 when the 3G network is shut down. There are emergency phones in lifts that will not work when someone gets stuck—and they didn’t know that until a couple of weeks ago. Many fall alerts, medical alarms and pacemakers use 3G to alert an ambulance. This isn’t just about upgrading old phones, although the telcos will certainly make more money from forcing people into new phones. There are non-mobile devices that will be affected as well.

Telcos gave us the figures at the inquiry. Together they estimate there are 68,000 3G mobile devices still in use. These are old phones. An argument could be made that it’s time for them be replaced. Yet the 4G phones are where it gets really interesting. There are 4G mobile devices that will be affected when 3G shuts down. Some 4G phones piggyback on the 3G network. They use 4G for data and default to 3G to make calls. These are referenced as non-voice-over LTE, or non-VoLTE. Telcos tell us there are 311,000 of these. When the 3G network is shut off, there will be 311,000 4G phones that won’t make a phone call. Then for the final category, 4G phones that have VoLTE and will be able to make calls yet default to 3G for triple 0 calls, there are 52,000 4G devices that will appear fine until someone tries to call triple 0 and it doesn’t work. Across the phones that are 3G only, 4G non-VoLTE and 4G VoLTE with no emergency calls, there are 432,000 mobile devices that won’t work properly, and that’s only half the story.

There are non-mobile devices that will be cut off and will stop working. There are an estimated 608,329 of them. No-one really knows how many because telcos can’t directly contact the users—that’s thorough, according to the minister. These non-mobile devices include fire alarms; 200,000 medical alarms; emergency phones in elevators; warning systems; EFTPOS terminals; agricultural equipment like water pumps, water trough monitors and tractors; Internet of Things enabled products; routers; scanners and survey equipment; water meters; power meters; and much, much more. As the department said at the inquiry:

… it’s fair to say that we are learning new things as we reach out to different stakeholders.

That was just a few weeks ago—thorough, huh? That means they have no idea how big the non-mobile device problem is.

In total, 1,041,000 devices will be affected, potentially more, and the Minister for Communications is ready to let it happen in two months. Why the rush? It’s a good question. Why not delay it further until Australians won’t be put in danger? It’s all about profits for these huge corporations, and the minister’s ongoing timidity or apathy to not protect Australian lives.

I thank the Liberal, Nationals and Greens senators for supporting my motion for this inquiry, especially Senator Canavan as chair. I note and appreciate James Parker’s outstanding submission and testimony.

The solution is simple. The communications minister must intervene and set safe, practical criteria or thresholds for the number of devices affected, before the shutdown can proceed. Instead of leaving Australians high and dry, put the onus on the telcos to take care of Australians.

This is a matter of life and death. What value will the minister place on Australian lives?

December 19, 2024/0 Comments/by Senator Malcolm Roberts

Millions Lost to Bureaucratic Stalling

National, Senate Estimates

The Digital Restack is a simple concept. When digital television was introduced in Australia, each station was given six channels but opted to use only five. In fact, they often struggle to provide entertaining content on even those five. The bandwidth from the sixth channel has been sitting unused between stations all this time.

A digital restack would simply move the channels closer together, freeing up a block of bandwidth that could be auctioned off for between $1 billion and $2 billion—funds that taxpayers could benefit from now. More importantly, this revenue could help grow the economy and create jobs.

One Nation believes a small portion of this bandwidth should be dedicated to two Community Television channels, providing community access to broadcasting, defeating the media monopoly on TV programming. Melbourne’s C31 is an excellent example of the quality and audience reach that community television can achieve.

I asked the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) what happened to the restack that was due this year. The answer was extraordinary. According to the Minister, they are conducting “a managed and staged process of thinking about the future of broadcasting, including broadcasters, ourselves, the department and the audiences for those programs, in looking at how that future state of broadcasting can be managed.”

In other words, they have no plans to proceed—just a stream of bureaucratic word salad instead.

This government is failing us.

Transcript

Senator ROBERTS: Yes. And we’ve seen how that goes. This is my final question. It is about the digital restack. I looked through your annual work program report and found this comment regarding the digital television channel restack. I quote:

Exploring possible parameters and solutions for channel planning relevant to possible new shared multiplex arrangements. This work will provide evidence to inform any future restack—

The restack was to be a closing up of digital TV channels. This sounds like you have something else in mind for the sixth channel, the gap between each station. What is the plan for the restack now?

Ms O’Loughlin: The Minister for Communications gave a speech a couple of weeks ago at our RadComms conference. They were talking about a program of work that needed to be done around the future of television. Her emphasis in that was that free-to-air television is incredibly important in Australia because it reaches 99 per cent of the population. It is free to air. How is that going to evolve over the next 10 years? Will it be terrestrially driven or will some of it go online? The minister was talking about a managed and staged process of thinking about the future of broadcasting, including the broadcasters, ourselves, the department and the audiences for those programs. It is looking at how that future state of broadcasting can be managed. A small part of that is what happens to the spectrum that may be freed up over that process. Part of our job is what that might be and when that might occur. The annual report says that requires channel planning. A whole lot of spectrum planning would have to be done to facilitate any movement of the broadcasters and the freeing up of that spectrum over time.

Senator ROBERTS: What does that mean in English, so that people can understand? What is the reality? You have said managed and staged, which indicates to me that it is more than just a premonition of an idea that something might happen. Something is happening.

Ms O’Loughlin: The minister’s announcement was about some things that have happened recently. For example, in Mildura, the Channel 10 services were turned off because the local providers who provided that service didn’t think it was financially feasible to continue it. It has an impact on consumers. WIN has made some changes to its arrangements in other parts of the country, where it is sharing its own infrastructure. That has an implication. That has actually not affected those audiences very well. I think what the minister is saying is that if there is going to be an end state where broadcasting wants to go, we need to think about all the steps that have to take place for that to get there effectively. That is what is alluded to. There is what is called a future broadcasting working group, which the minister has asked to be reinvigorated, to start thinking about these issues for the next 10 or 15 years, not the next two or three.

November 14, 2024/3 Comments/by Senator Malcolm Roberts

3G Shutdown Expands to 4 and 5G Shutdown for 250,000 Mobiles!

National

Photo credit: Home Security Online

The Government is letting greeting telco companies charge ahead with the “3G shutdown”. This is deceptive because it is really a 4 and 5G shutdown as well.

The government quietly published a new rule that will force telco companies to block up to 250,000 perfectly functioning 4 and 5G mobile phones under the cover of the shutdown. This is a disaster and the government is letting telcos make billions while they abandon their customers.

241025 MinMRowland Download

⚠️ Attention

For people with some 4G and 5G phones or 3G phones and devices including health and safety monitors – the federal government is serving multinational corporations and risking hundreds of thousands of lives.

My successful senate motion initiated a senate inquiry into the Telstra-Optus shutdown of 3G networks. The inquiry exposed the fact that more than a million devices and phones would not work once 3G is shutdown, including emergency health devices and monitors – many 4G phones that depend on 3G network for 000 emergency calls.

The inquiry exposed that Labor Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland and her Department and Australian Communication & Media Authority (ACMA) were hopelessly ignorant of the threat to so many lives in Australia. And did not care.

The inquiry exposed the lack of standardisation and the incompatibility of 4G phones – a Telstra-Optus rort worth billions of dollars. It stops competition, limits customer choices and compromises safety.

In response to facts witnesses presented and were never refuted, the shutdown was delayed a token month. We learned that many other countries including the UK have decided to keep the 3G networks running for several more years. The premature 3G shutdown here is going ahead in just a few days!

A telco expert sent me a text message:

Just letting you know that Telstra has started blocking devices that actually work perfectly for 000 on 4G.

My devices were kicked off around 10 AM EST. I can’t even make an emergency call on Telstra’s network anymore with those devices. Just with Optus.

Telstra only notified customers about their devices being totally blocked on midday Friday with an SMS.

Many customers are now unable to contact anyone as they have no Data or SMS either.

Disgraceful. Inhuman. Irresponsible.

The federal government is serving corporations and risking lives.

October 28, 2024/2 Comments/by Senator Malcolm Roberts

Greedy Telcos Push 3G Shutdown – Government Must Act Now!

National, Speeches

Greedy telco companies are still pushing ahead with their plans to shutdown the 3G network. This is despite a million devices due to be affected include hundreds of thousands of 4G mobiles.

Pacemakers, medical alarms, EFTPOS machines and emergency phones in elevators are just the tip of the iceberg.

The Government must set minimum criteria and guarantees before allowing the shutdown to go ahead. Anything else prioritises telco profits above the lives of Australians.

Transcript

I move: That the Senate take note of the interim report.

The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee’s inquiry into the 3G mobile network shutdown can claim a small victory, yet there will be no champagne corks popped. Telstra and Optus announced they will delay their 3G shutdown for two months. I called for a delay in March. I called for the 3G shutdown to be delayed until Australia was ready for the transition.

The committee has been running an inquiry into the Telstra and Optus proposal that was established on my motion here in the Senate. That inquiry has revealed Australia is nowhere near ready to flick the switch on 3G, and there’s no hope that it can be fixed in just two months. It’s ridiculous. This short delay is nowhere near good enough. Before we can even consider going ahead with the 3G shutdown, the Minister for Communications, Minister Rowland, must intervene and set guarantees of minimum service thresholds on the telcos. It’s time to put Australian people above the telcos short-term company profits.

The inquiry is ongoing, and given the shutdown deadline was rapidly approaching, the committee commendably issued this interim report. This inquiry discovered a tidal wave of disaster coming for business and Australians. The shutdown won’t just affect 3G mobiles, of which there are still hundreds of thousands in operation; it will affect 4G mobiles, even though many of those owners think they’re safe.

As the committee notes:

Furthermore, there are close to half a million non-mobile devices that will not function once the 3G network is shutdown. As an example, these include water and electricity meters, farming monitoring and diagnostic equipment, medical devices, emergency phones in elevators, in addition to safety and asset tracking devices.

It goes on to say there are:

… serious, and in some cases life threatening, impacts on people and organisations if these devices do not work after the shutdown.

Telstra and Optus were at pains to point out how much money and time they had put into making customers aware. Despite these apparently huge efforts—highly ineffective efforts—the total number of mobile and non-mobile devices that the shutdown will affect is close to one million. The telco companies say they’re working on getting all of the 4G coverage up to the same level as 3G. They will not guarantee it will be done as guaranteeing the coverage might cost them money. Once the 3G network is shutdown though, it will be too late. If the communications minister doesn’t intervene, she’ll be giving the telco companies free rein to screw over Australians for short-term profits.

It’s been clear since the inquiry’s public hearings in July that this shutdown must be postponed indefinitely. The telco companies have made it clear they don’t care about the consequences. Telstra and Optus have confirmed they’ll charge ahead with the shutdown. The telcos are more interested in their short-term profits than the safety and lives of Australians.

Let me be clear: this shutdown will put the lives of Australians at risk, and Telstra and Optus are going to do it anyway. The Minister for Communications must intervene, yet so far all we have heard is crickets. We still have no statement from the minister that she will impose even one condition on Telstra and Optus—not one. We haven’t even seen a response from the minister to this interim report, despite the fact it was delivered nearly two weeks ago and the shutdown was due to happen just two weeks from now.

I wish to thank the rural and regional affairs and transport committee for their fantastic work, especially the secretariat, in collating the numerous submissions and organising days of important public hearings, and Senator Canavan, the chair. The Senate successfully supported my motion yesterday ordering the government to respond to this inquiry, with Monday as the deadline. If the minister fails to respond or fails to provide a plan to intervene, we will be pushing this further.

I take this opportunity to express appreciation for Mr James Parker’s comprehensive and insightful submission to the 3G inquiry and his powerful and clear witness testimony. In particular, I note that he revealed arguably the inquiry’s most significant discovery: the complete lack of compatibility of and standardisation across telco and phone manufacturers. It’s time to put the Australian people above the short-term profits of Telstra and Optus. The communications minister must intervene and set minimum service thresholds and other guarantees for the telcos to fulfil before we can even consider shutting down the network. I want to point out that France has delayed their shutdown until at least 2028 because they found out about the problems with the lack of standardisation and the lack of compatibility amongst phones. Britain is still on 2G and 3G and has now delayed their shutdown until late this decade. The minister must address the compatibility and standardisation issues that are costing 4G users needless expense and denying market competition. The people who are suffering are Australian consumers. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.

August 22, 2024/by Senator Malcolm Roberts

Telcos Let Off ‘Scot-Free’ on 3G Shutdown

National

Telstra and Optus’ two-month delay on the 3G mobile network shutdown is a failure of the Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and defies recommendations from a Senate inquiry.

A two-month delay is nowhere near enough time to fix the million mobile and non-mobile devices the shutdown is still estimated to seriously affect. The telco companies have been let off scot-free.

There will be no consequences if Telstra and Optus flick the switch and leave hundreds of thousands of Australians in danger.

The 3G shutdown is only being done to boost the profits of Telstra and Optus at the expense of Australians living through a cost-of-living crisis.