Farmer's narrow escape fuels 3G network shutdown concerns

Mixed farmer Paul Funnell, from Collingullie north-west of Wagga Wagga in NSW, narrowly escaped death after his tractor collected power lines while he ploughed a paddock several weeks ago, and he said it could have proven far worse.

Mr Funnell, a former Wagga councillor, said the incident happened about 5pm one Monday afternoon when the sun blinded him and he drove under the wires barely 400 metres from his house.

"I swung around and the sun hit me in the eyes, so I put the [tractor] bucket up as it came around. I went about 50 metres then everything went bang and the tractor stopped," he said.

Looking up, he saw the wires were sitting on top of the bucket, making the tractor live.

"It blew the computers out," he said, recalling how he was forced to sit tight in the tractor cabin until help arrived.

He was barely able to make contact with emergency services via the existing Telstra 3G network, before the signal dropped out.

Mr Funnell could even see his wife arrive home about 400 metres away, but was unable to let her know of the danger he was in due to the lack of mobile reception.

When his neighbour came to assist, Mr Funnell was also unable to warn him of the dangers.

"He didn't know what was wrong and I couldn't ring him to stay away," he said.

Fortunately, the neighbour realised what was going on and came to no harm.

Mr Funnell said he also tried and failed to communicate with on-scene emergency service personnel via phone during the three-hour ordeal, despite being just metres away.

"It was like a cast of thousands, you name it, every man and his dog. I've never seen so many red and blue flashing lights," he said.

"But thank God they were here, because it was live and they had to turn the power off so I could then get off and get the machine out from under it."

Mr Funnell said Telstra 3G reception was currently hit and miss across the area, something which put him and those who attended the incident in harms way. He's concerned it will only get worse when the network is turned off on June 30.

Optus is set to follow suit on September 1.

Mr Funnell has concerns if the 4G network is replaced and the 3G one turned off the issue will only worsen.

"We're 30km from the largest inland city in NSW, and they're going to turn this network off in a couple of months," he said.

"Then the system will be overloaded, because everyone will be on 4G."

It comes after the National Farmers Federation last week called on the federal government to take urgent action to ensure phone companies don't leave thousands of farmers without mobile coverage as the 3G shutdown looms.

NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee chair Deb Charlton said the impending shutdown would spell disaster for many farmers who often work alone and a long way from help.

"As providers push ahead with this 3G network shutdown, there's no doubt there will be farmers who run into trouble or have an accident and will be unable to call for help," Mrs Charlton said.

"Even with the 3G network in place, there are hundreds of horror stories of accidents occurring on farms or on isolated country roads, where people have not had the mobile coverage they need to contact emergency services and get lifesaving help."

Ms Charlton expressed "absolutely no confidence" in the ability for 4G to adequately replace 3G when the network was switched off.

"We will only see more of these tragic situations as a result," she said.

Mrs Charlton urged the federal government to urgently work with telecommunications providers to resolve the connectivity challenges faced by farmers and rural communities, and set out a clear plan to secure reliable connectivity moving forward.

"Unless there is a real and concerted focus on local infrastructure upgrades and broader regional telecommunications networks, large tracts of the state with poor mobile coverage will see connectivity get even worse," Mrs Charlton said.

"The farmers who grow the nation's food and fibre should not be forced into using expensive satellite phones or have to resort back to pre-war radio connections as their only link to the outside world.

"Connectivity is a critical tool, and in many cases, it's been the difference between life and death when an accident has occurred in these rural communities."

Telstra's NSW regional general manager Chris Taylor said when the 3G network was first launched in 2003 it was used for mobile calls, texting and basic internet functions.

"Today, demand for mobile data is growing by around 30 per cent each year. As our technology and use cases change, people need a network that's fit for today and the future," Mr Taylor said.

"4G and 5G networks are much more efficient than 3G. Not only do the newer networks use less energy to deliver more data than 3G, but they can also connect more devices, provide higher speeds, and have lower latency."

Mr Taylor said Telstra customers on the latest 4G and 5G devices also experience download speeds that are many times faster than 3G.

"As customers increasingly move from 3G to take up the benefits of newer technology, we have seen a significant decline in 3G usage across our national network," Mr Taylor said.

"3G accounts for just 1 per cent of our total mobile network traffic, highlighting why now is a good time to re-purpose its spectrum to support our 4G and 5G roll-out across regional areas."

Mr Taylor said devices that rely on the 3G network will not work once that network is closed, including 3G-only mobile phones and a range of internet of things devices sold by other manufacturers, such as sensors.

"In terms of national regional coverage, Telstra has the biggest mobile network of all providers. More than 98 per cent of our mobile sites already have 4G installed," he said.

"Looking at our online coverage maps, by June 30 Telstra have committed to providing equivalent 4G coverage in places where there is currently only 3G coverage.

"This upgrade work is happening at pace all around the country and means that if people have mobile coverage today, then they should have mobile coverage in that location after June 30."

Optus vice president of government and regulator affairs Andrew Sheridan has reassured customers that safety was a priority for the company.

"We welcome the Minister amplifying these important industry-wide issues regarding the shutdown of 3G," Mr Sheridan said.

"Optus is continuing to communicate directly with customers who we believe will be impacted by the closure of our 3G network from September 2024 to strongly encourage them to change their device.

"This will include both customers who are still reliant on 3G only devices and those who may be using a 4G device that may also rely on the 3G network."

Mr Sheridan said Optus was providing additional support to vulnerable customers.

"We are encouraging customers that have already been contacted by Optus to upgrade their devices earlier to ensure they are not impacted by this shut down," he said.

"Optus technicians have been preparing for this shutdown by enhancing 4G and 5G coverage."