Aerial view of telecommunication tower situated on a hill top, with many cellular antennas which transmits 3G, 4G and 5G signal to phones and other terminals

THE National Farmers Federation has laid out the impacts of the 3G shutdown to Senate committee, saying it is a safety and productivity issue.

The Senate committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport has been investigating the shutdown of the 3G network since it was on the cards at the start of last year.

Since the inquiry started the shutdown has happened, which has drawn widespread concerns from regional Australians about their coverage becoming worse since it happened.

Another public hearing was held this, with NFF acting CEO Charlie Thomas saying the organisation is still hearing concerns from farming families.

“Telstra and Optus commenced the shutdown of their respective 3G mobile networks in October 2024, with a promise to consumers of equivalent or improved coverage,” Mr Thomas said.

“Three months later, Australian farmers are not convinced that the major providers have delivered on that promise.”

Mr Thomas said farmers have been forced to fork out $10,000 to $20,000 on equipment to improve their coverage after the shutdown.

“Farmers have been left with no choice but to fork out for expensive boosters, antennas – those who already had appropriate equipment have spent countless hours navigating complex software upgrades – and even after all of that many are still finding very basic connectivity a challenge,” he said.

“We have said repeatedly that the situation on the ground is a safety issue and a productivity issue. With the shutdown coinciding with both harvest and fire danger season, rural communities are bearing the full weight of this fact.”

Producers losing coverage

Mr Thomas provided three examples of producers caught up in the shutdown.

• Grain producer Scott Loughnan from Muckadilla, Queensland, cites significant issues post shutdown on the Warrego Highway, which has impacted local farmers’ ability to communicate while carting grain during harvest. In time sensitive periods such as harvest, the ramifications of not being able to communicate can be significant and costly.
• A mixed livestock and cropping farmer from southern New South Wales reports that they have been told they are in a guaranteed coverage area yet consistently have dropouts. Between purchasing a cel-fi booster and upgrading farm equipment they estimate to have spent between $10,000-20,000 as a result of the 3G shutdown.
• The Knuth family run a cattle operation out of Charters Towers. They can currently only make reliable calls on 20pc of their property, in comparison to about 90pc prior to the shutdown. A lack of reliable mobile coverage during calving made it difficult them to call for help and reduced the efficiency of their operation.