The 3G cellular networks in Australia are being decommissioned soon, but there is still enough time to understand the implications, and make necessary plans for the switch-over to 4G. Read on to find out how.
Similar to what happened in Australia with the GSM and 2G networks, the march of technology means that all three major mobile Telco networks in Australia will be shutting down their 3G communications network technology in coming months and years.
When will the 3G networks be shut down?
To this date, the only Telco in Australia to announce an end date of their 3G technology is Telstra, which has said that it will be shutting down its operations by 2024. Hence, all businesses which have been operating on 3G modems, have approximately 700 working days in their hands to get prepared for the forthcoming change and implement a brand new solution.
If no action is taken now, systems that rely on automation to run their industrial networks, critical businesses, and communications may not work after this date. This practically means that businesses that have been using 3G modems to run their operations will need to upgrade their system hardware. This may involve new modems, backend systems, network antennas, and SIM plans.
4G works differently to 3G
Since 3G has a completely different way of working to 4G applications, not all 3G systems can work the same way on 4G/LTE or 5G networks. This is because the 3G networks were developed over the original GSM architecture, which revolved around phone calls and ancillary services. Whereas 4G and later technologies are fully IP networking based. Hence, applications relying on Circuit Switched Data calls or other 2G/3G specific features, will need to be redesigned to work with the IP based networking used in 4G.
What are the types of M2M / IoT applications that are at risk?
There are many types of M2M and IoT applications that will get impacted with 1000s of customers getting affected and more than 100,000 devices nationally that will face the impact.
- Building Management Systems
- Flood Monitoring Systems
- Road and Traffic monitoring systems
- Tank Level Monitoring
- Alarm Monitoring
- Pumping Stations
- Weather stations
- SCADA/telemetry
- RTU (Remote Telemetry Units)
- Industrial Alarm Paging Systems also known as SMS Alarming
- Utilities Remote Infrastructure such as Reclosers
- PLC Remote Communications or Diagnostics
- Cathodic Protection Systems
- Vending
- Eftpos
- Meter reading
Why do you need to act now?
Even if 2024 seems quite far, when you have to arrange a roll-out to over 10,000 end points in order to undertake an upgrade, then starting as early as possible is absolutely crucial. Also since 3G has been functioning very well for a long period of time, doing a proper audit now on your environment is necessary to understand the extent to which the 3G assets need to be upgraded. Importantly, the solutions offered by Esis can help in immediately lowering your ongoing cost base, and therefore, it is wise to act right now to take advantage of the extra savings.
So, what is next?
If your industrial equipment is already ready for native IP communication, then a complete change on your industrial equipment might not be absolutely necessary. In addition, some smart devices can emulate the old dial-up modem style of operation while communicating via IP networks over 4G, allowing you to connect legacy equipment without major upgrade costs.
If you are looking to avoid expensive downtime, diminish negative customer experience and increase the overall lifetime of your communications network, contact Esis to discuss the way forward. We offer a whole range of industry leading solutions from top global brands.
ESIS is the leading supplier and manufacturer of electronic industrial equipment in the Australian market since 1971. Contact us or check the detailed product information on our website, for our wide range of IoT and M2M equipment.
