Australian telcos won't budge from 3G sunset timetable

　　Are Australian ATMs, medical devices and emergency communications heading for a Y2K-style meltdown after 3G switches off the end of the month? That's the view of an Australian senate inquiry, which has called on Telstra and Optus to delay the network closure.

　　Senator Matt Canavan, who chaired the inquiry, recently said "thousands, possibly a million devices around the country ... could be impacted. We don't really know."

　　The committee report estimated tens of thousands of users may get stranded when the networks shut down, leaving them unable to call emergency services. Additionally, 3G is still widely deployed with bank ATMs, medical alerts, pacemakers and other devices.

　　"The committee believes the dangers to public safety, business continuity, and the provision of essential services as a result of the shutdown are too great to ignore and that the shutdown must be delayed until these concerns are sufficiently addressed," the report said.

　　Thanks to customer education campaigns, the number of 3G phones in service has fallen dramatically in recent months, from a million in March to around 77,000 now, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

　　But the two big telcos don't accept the committee's findings. They and the Communications Minister, who has the power to delay the shutdowns, remain committed to the August 31 deadline.

　　While Australia isn't changing course on 3G, Singapore has just put back its timetable by four months.

　　Only one operator, M1, was ready for the original date at the end of July and has now begun shutting down, according to regulator IMDA. Singtel and StarHub will start the process in November.

　　But these 3G schedules are positively leisurely compared to Vietnam's 2G timetable, which is set to leave several million users stranded on September 15.

　　The biggest operator, Viettel, reported 7.4 million 2G subs in late July, and while it is shedding these at a rapid pace, it expects it will still have 2.2 million 2G users by the switch-off date.

　　Rivals VinaPhone and Mobifone are likely to have more than 1 million between them, Vietnam News Agency reported.

　　The operators have an excellent incentive. They will lose access to 900MHz and 1800MHz bands if they don't end their 2G networks.

　　"Viettel recognizes that these remaining subscribers are challenging to convert. After the deadline, Viettel will cut off the remaining connections," Viettel deputy director Nguyen Trong Tinh said.

　　Hong Kong's biggest telco, HKT, is another that is shutting down 2G. It has been given the go-ahead to turn off the network on November 8 and re-use the 900 and 1,800MHz spectrum for 5G. The operator says it's been advising customers to upgrade their 2G phones since late 2022. Just 17,600 of its 4.9 million mobile subs are on the 2G network.