Australia is planning to shut down 3G networks in the country by the end of the year. this was announced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the country’s communication regulatory body.
Most carriers in the country are scheduled to kill off their 3G networks before the end of the year. Vodafone(TPG Telecom) has already shut down its 3G network while Optus and Telstra are planning to switch off on August 31. The government agency has advised Australians that their 3G devices won’t be able to call. send or receive messages.
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Devices that will be affected include 4G smartphones that make voice calls over 3G. The 3G devices that will be banned are not smartphones but other gadgets such as card terminals, personnel emergency devices, tablets and smartwatches.
Users are being advised to upgrade to 4G and 5G-powered devices.
Australia joins other countries that have shut down their 3G networks including America, with Europe scheduled to completely switch off 3G by 2030.
Developing nations are now catching up with the rest of the world when it comes to 5G and 4G. 45 out of 54 countries in Africa already have 5G either in the trial phase or commercially rolled out – a total of fifty-three 5G network carriers.
The Eastern African region is covered by thirteen 5G network carriers and Kenya has 586,684 mobile data subscriptions supported by three 5G carriers – Safaricom, Airtel and recently, Equitel.
Why Kenya Has More Smartphone Users Than Feature Phone Users
There’s a strong demand for high-speed connectivity not only in Kenya but across the continent and globally, especially with the youth who are data-hungry when it comes to consuming multimedia content(video streaming, music, gaming, live sports, cloud storage), mobile and cloud-based gaming.