Interview Highlight: Stephen Tinker - Will your 3G phone still work?

The 3G network is shutting down in August. Stephen Tinker, Telstra's Regional Manager for Victoria, shares with Peter Greco good news on a new initiative which will see 12,000 mobile devices being sent to Telstra customers in difficult situations. To find out if your phone will work after the 3G network is closed down text the number 3 to 3498.

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Episode Transcript

S1 (00:04):
Or if you're a regular program, we hope you are.
A few weeks ago. A few months ago, we caught
up with Stephen Tinker from Telstra to talk about the
shutdown of the three G network. There's some good news. Maybe.
I think Steve is on the line to tell us
a bit more. Stephen, good to catch up again.

S2 (00:20):
Yeah, great to be here. Thanks. Thanks again.

S1 (00:22):
Now, last time we spoke to you, of course, originally
the 3G network network was going to be shut down
in June. It was extended till August. That's still the case,
so I assume.

S2 (00:31):
Yeah, that's still the case, though. We as I said
last time, we're just giving that extra couple of months
to give people a bit more time to transition, make
sure they're got their devices all set up. If they are,
you know, with they've got 3G um, reliant and devices.
So make sure they've just got that extra time to
ensure they're they keep connected after August 31st.

S1 (00:51):
Now you've got a little bit of good news for
people who might be, uh, you know, in, uh, in, uh,
trying circumstances. Yeah.

S2 (00:56):
That's right. So, um, earlier this week, we announced that
we were going to provide 12,000 complimentary mobile devices for
some of our customers who are in really difficult situations.
So these are, you know, customers that we think may
need some sort of support for that transition when the
3G network closes. So and, and our focus really there

(01:17):
is just to make it as easy as possible for them.
So these are people that you know may be in
financial hardship. They might be recovering from natural disaster, they
might be living in remote areas, or they might have
some medical issues or, um, you know, difficulty getting into
store and things like that. Peter. So, um, so that
that's underway, which is, uh, which is a good thing
to do. I think it's a great idea.

S1 (01:37):
Um, what about in terms of, uh, who qualifies or
how you qualify?

S2 (01:41):
Uh, well, what we've done is we've identified these customers already, Peter,
based on the data points that we've got. So we've assessed,
you know, we work with our customers, um, uh, pretty heavily,
as you'd expect. And what we've identified customers that are
using the 3G network still, uh, and, and they qualify,
you know, based on their financial hardship or, or other elements,

(02:02):
as I've just just said. So we've identified that, uh,
we've started to send out devices to customers already. So
if you're one of the customers that have received the device,
that's great. Um, that'll continue to happen over the next
couple of weeks. So we anticipate that all of the
devices will land with customers we've identified by the end
of June or around that time.

S1 (02:22):
So, uh, will people be notified to say, you know,
you've got a, uh, a phone that's going to be, uh,
you know, be able to work after the 3G network
closes down? You we've got you've got a phone coming
out to you.

S2 (02:35):
Uh, well, they'll they'll receive it all, all in one hit. Peter. So, um,
they'll receive it all in a mail, um, with some
instructions and advice on what to do and how to
set it up. So. So that's the plan. So that's
the once they receive that, they know they'll they've been
identified as someone we want to support through this process.

S1 (02:51):
Okay. That's where the, uh, grandkids or uh, nieces or
nephews like come in a bit handier, uh, if they
perhaps find a little bit challenging, I guess there's probably, um, um,
some instructions there that are probably pretty simple, because I
guess if they've got a phone at the moment, it's
probably not going to be that much different just in
terms of, um, it's going to be able to access the, uh,
the network after the 3G closes down. Yeah.

S2 (03:13):
That's right. And what we're possible what we've tried to
do is provide those customers with a, with a familiar
type device. So it's something close to what they're using now.
So if it's a big button phone we're trying to
replace with a big button find flip find the same
sort of thing. So uh, not not always possible because
there's probably there might be some older ones out there,
but we're trying to do that as close as we
possibly can. So to help people with so they know

(03:35):
what they're what they're dealing with, which is, I think,
an important thing too. And I guess.

S1 (03:38):
You're pretty confident because, as you say, you kind of
know what people are doing or what they're using. So,
you know, that, uh, information that you have is probably
coming in very, very handy in terms of a who's
going to get it and be the sort of phone
that that's going to be replaced with.

S2 (03:52):
Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, we do, as I said,
we deal a lot with our customers and, um, you know,
through various mediums. And so we've got some, you know,
some of that information that we've used to assess, uh,
this need uh, but I suppose the other thing to consider, too, Peter, for,
for your listeners is that although we've taken this proactive
measure and, and this is based on that, on that

(04:13):
those data points that we, that we've assessed, uh, it's still,
you know, if customers feel like they need some support or,
you know, feel free to, to reach out to us
either through our online, uh, through the app or, um,
through our stores or through our one, three, double two,
double zero number, because there's lots of different options that
our agents can potentially help with. Uh, there's, you know,

(04:33):
there's affordable options and things like that. So they're they're
there and ready to, to support where we possibly can.

S1 (04:39):
I think you made some great points earlier, as Steve
talked about the fact that, you know, people who might
find it difficult to get into a store because of
distance or, you know, medical reasons. I mean, you know,
the phone is so, so important these days that to
be left without it, you know, or could literally be
life threatening. So it sounds like you've sort of gone
above and beyond in a sense to try and, um,

(05:00):
sort of close that gap, if I can put it
that way.

S2 (05:02):
Yeah. Thanks. I think that's right. That. Our always our
intent with the you know, the closing of the 3G
network is to make things better for our customers, you know,
with the network. Uh, you know, is is over 20
years old and it's, you know, was designed for texts and, and, uh,
phone calls back in the day and, and what we're,
you know, we're looking is that this more data so
that that the ambition to make things better for our customers.

(05:25):
And this is an important step, I think, to make
sure that, um, you know, we don't leave, you know,
people behind, which is not, uh, absolutely not the intent
at all about this. We want to make sure that
people get the best experience by using the network. And
for all those reasons you just stated, whether that's, you know,
their ability to connect to the rest of the world,
family and friends do business, uh, whatever it might be.
We want to be able to make sure their customers

(05:47):
have the information or the support they need.

S1 (05:49):
Firstly, people get the phone and then like they keep
it for kind of over a day or as long
as they stay on the Telstra plan. How does that.

S2 (05:55):
Work. Yeah. No it's it's theirs Peter. So yeah it's
like it's locked to the Telstra network. Uh, and uh
but you know as a point in time they, they
need some support to unlock it. They can potentially do
that down the track. But you know it's it's theirs to,
to operate and use, uh, you know, and keep connected.
That's the, that's the purpose of it.

S1 (06:13):
And without it it might be uh, breaching confidentiality. But, uh,
any idea what this would be costing Telstra? I guess,
you know, these things probably aren't cheap. I mean, I
guess the amount of, uh, customers you've got, Steve, and
which would be in the millions. So 12,000 is probably
a small percentage, but nevertheless it's, it's, you know, I
guess part of being a good corporate citizen. Yeah.

S2 (06:33):
Look, I don't know the exact cost of it, Peter,
but I think, yeah, that the intent is to ensure
that we can support our customers where they are in
the greatest need. And that's what we're focusing in on to,
to do that. So I think that's the the important
outcome for those folks.

S1 (06:46):
Okay. So uh, if you're in that, uh, group, then
there's a phone coming out to you and, uh, if
you do have any questions or maybe if you think, well,
hang on, I might have been missed in all this. Um,
as you say, people can give, uh, the Telstra, uh,
number a call or, uh, check out the Telstra app
as well. Yeah.

S2 (07:04):
And I think importantly for the listeners too, Peter, is that,
you know, to understand whether you're going to be impacted
by the 3G network closure that you can to actually
test your handset or your device.

S1 (07:14):
Oh, yes. Good point. Sorry, I was going to bring
that up. And you've you've preempted me. Yeah.

S2 (07:19):
Yeah. So you can simply text the number 3 to 3, 498.
Uh and that will and that will send you a
message back to let you know whether you need to
do something about your device. Um, or it might just
come back and say, and this is what most people
are getting, is that, no, you're all good, so you
won't have any impact. Um, when the, when the 3G
network closes. The other thing that we have is that, um, if,

(07:41):
if your device is using the 3G network for, you know,
for anything and it's relying on that, you'll currently be
hearing a pre-recorded message when you go to make a call.
And so that's to remind you to upgrade. So that's
another tip that if you're getting that message, you need
to do something about your handset because it won't work
after August 31st. So, you know, we encourage people to, um,

(08:02):
to do the either of those two things or make
sure they're paying attention to that and act as soon
as they can.

S1 (08:08):
Well, it sounds like there's been plenty of warning. I mean,
you know, I know, uh, we've had you on the
program a couple of times and both also spoke to Acon,
and I've heard and seen other stuff about, uh, the
work that you're doing. So I think people, you know,
should be, uh, very well briefed about this particular information.
So one three, double two, double zero is Telstra's telephone number.
If people would like to use the phone and just

(08:30):
give us those details again. So if you're not quite
sure and you know now you will know. Now if
your phone is not going to be compatible, when you
text the number three to the number, you will be
notified now that, uh, your phone won't be, uh, working
after August 31st.

S2 (08:46):
Yeah. That's right. So text the number 3 to 3 498.
And that will give you that will text you back
an explanation about if you need to do something about
your handset, um, which I think is important test for
people to do. And that just gives you a peace
of mind on what you need to, you know, if
there's something you need to act before August 31st. So yeah,
recommend people at least do that. And, uh, the other

(09:07):
one is, um, you know, if you've got family and
friends and neighbors that you think may struggle in this space,
but probably worth giving a check to see if they,
they're aware of it too.

S1 (09:17):
Yeah. Great point Stephen. Great to catch up. Appreciate your time. Thanks, Peter.
That's a Stephen Tinker there. He's the regional manager for
Telstra and Victoria with some really important news. So uh,
it's happening and well who knows, there might be something
very nice coming in the post to your place as
far as a free phone goes.