What the hell is this? Companies like #Telstra need to know that this sort of time-wasting bullshit interrupting my day is the quickest way to get me to hit unsubscribe and ban notifications.

Has anyone else noticed some weird Telstra black spots that have appeared in the last few months? There's an odd one right at the Flinders/Elizabeth St corner; if you're on a tram you have to wait till it's moved forward a bit before it disappears. Another odd one is next to the Children's Hospital. Strange stuff.

New Patreon Post (Subscribers only): Telstra’s buying Boost, but what will that mean for mobile prices in 2025?

#Australia #Telstra #BoostMobile

https://www.patreon.com/posts/telstra-buys-but-117123619?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

Seriously, #Australia's #2G & #3G #Shutdown and #IMEI-based #Blocklisting WILL inevitably kill people

And the only "tool" there is is #Telstra's Website and just teting random IMEIs only yields two possible results:

1. 'We don't know this device at all'

2. "'We've not blocklisted it'*

Even when testing it with obvious #2Gonly & #3Gonly devices that certainly don't support #VoLTE...

I have solved* my 4G VoLTE #3gShutdown problem

*- well, at least unblocked myself so I can receive SMS so I could, in theory, port my number off #Optus † and maybe use #Telstra ? Via #AldiMobile maybe? Which possibly perhaps won't arbitrarily block my VoLTE-capable phone perhaps why not some people believe.

†- which is kinda holding my number hostage, since I need to receive SMS to prove I own the number for porting purposes, but am barred from using my old phone with the network because botched ACMA legislation.

@fixatedpersonsunit

Australia in general loathes people-to-people communications.

It's part of its #authoritarian slavery/oppression/genocide roots.

Proof;
#cbradio was actively fought by the government

#BBS systems were actively fought by (The then Government Telco) #Telstra

National firewall (Like the firewall of China) is in place on the ISP level

This is what we call a systemic, industry fuck-up:
"Unlike 2G and 3G, 4G and 5G are data-only standards and have no built-in calling functionality, let alone one as well standardised as the traditional “circuit-switched” calling from 2G and 3G.
This becomes a problem as to enable calling on 4G and 5G, devices need to have explicit software support, especially so for emergency calls."
#5G #MobilePhones #CellPhones #Australia #Telstra
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/australias-3g-shutdown-why-your-4g5g-phone-is-now-blocked,19159

Today’s the day that Telstra has planned to shut its last 3G network tower — but I’ve had a bunch of queries around accessibility, imported phones and more, so I’ve written up one last guide (and video) to try to help!

#3G #4G #5G #Australia #Telstra #Optus #Vodafone

https://alexreviewstech.com/3g-in-australia-is-dead-what-happens-next/

The shutdown of 3G in Australia is mere days away, so I’ve updated my guide as to what’s happening and why with a few more specifics — and some issues that have emerged for some buyers of supposedly “new” phones, too…

#3G #Australia #Telstra #Optus

https://alexreviewstech.com/3g-shutdown-in-australia-whats-happening-and-why-and-what-you-need-to-do/

A #PSA for anyone living, staying, entering or even travelling to/from #Australia:

Apparently, #Australia decided to mandate it's #GSM systems to be shutdown because some #GalaxyBrainChair wanted to yeet #2G & #3G and demand everything to use #4G & #5G when in fact #VoLTE support is spotty at best and #EmergencyCalling oftentimes is explicitly hardcoded to not use #WIFIcalling or VoLTE as providing #triangulation and #LocationData via #SS7 is a desired feature when someone calls EMS, Fire Dept or the Police for help...

• So essentially #tourists and anyone who hasn't an explicitly fully VoLTE-functional device they tested and verified to also do #EmergencyCalls via VoLTE are fecked with no reception when they need it the most!

• This WILL KILL PEOPLE!!!

As much as we want to bitch about #GSM & #GPRS / #UMTS being #outdated and #inefficient, there are reasons to at least keep 2G available - ranging from lower power consumption to higher resilience in emergency situations.

• #NewZealand for example does shutdown non-#EmergencyCalls during severe #Earthquakes so that people trapped and/or in need of urgent assistance can get through to dispatch operators and everyone else has to get in line and take a number aka. use #SMS or if existing #Internet to say "I'm fine!"...

• If the Ozzies really need that juicy #UHF #SubGHz #Spectrum it's totally feasible to instead change the #allocations and reconfigure #CellularNetworks to use lesser bandwith for 2G (i.e. only keeping the absolute mininum of channels available for any service) and thus clear up space...

And to add insult to injury, Australia passed a #NorthKorea|n-alike #CellPhone #ImportBan for any device that doesn't do i.e. the bespoke proprietary garbage that i.e. #Telstra, #Vodafone and #Optus do with the #baseband modems of their #branded devices...

Seriously, which #TechIlliterate dickhead decided it's a good idea to do that #3Gshutdown in Australia without even a basic 2G network up and running at all?

• At least #Switzerland [AFAIK] still has #3G up and running (tho it would've been wiser to do it like #Germany and keep #2G as emergency fallback with it's functions like #CellBroadcast....

Imagine if #Telstra spent less on fancy advertising and more on fixing their coverage and reliability

How do the telco’s iPhone 16 trade-in deals compare? I’ve crunched the numbers — more than 150 different prices — to help you work out if trade-in is the right way to go for an older iPhone over at Whistleout — so go check it out!
#iPhone16 #Australia #Telstra #Optus #Vodafone

https://www.whistleout.com.au/MobilePhones/Guides/iPhone-trade-in-deals-and-plans

Ahh #Telstra leading cause of early drinking in #Australia.
Simple process, 2 phones with eSIM support side by side, and transfer the eSIM from one to the other.

Can't have that says #Telstra, we don't like easy, make them sign into their Telstra.com account during transfer, passkey support? No. Huh, people still doing it. We've already auth’d them, but have them approve the transfer with notifications in the app. Notification opens the app, and the transfer process aborts.

Oh, interesting -- Telstra and Optus have extended their shutdown dates for 3G networks in Australia until the 28th of October. Quick video here:
#Telstra #Optus #3G #4G #Australia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUudFOdvk3Q

Nike’s self-lacing shoes are now useless.

Join us on the Home Automation Podcast as we dive into the latest tech disruptions. Remember those futuristic Nike self-lacing shoes?

Tune in to YouTube to view the latest episode: https://youtu.be/_O4QJQtsBlQ

I have bought a pump. Its job is to spray the house all over with water when a #bushfire comes. There's only so much water, so it needs to be timed right, otherwise the house will dry out before the heat arrives.

So, attached to the pump is a controller made by the thoughtful and nice Graham and Matt at Small Farm Services. (https://smallfarmservices.net.au).
I send it a 'start' over SMS and it starts. Later it sends me status messages. Marvelous.

The trouble, of course, is that #mobile #networks get turned off and/or fail during bushfires.

#Optus, #Telstra, any chance you could give me an indication of failure modes during fires? No, I didn't really think you would. <rolls eyes>. Did you know that #Optus funded a CRC into bushfires at ANU? It did/does really good stuff. (https://brcoe.org). Optus has issued press releases like this: https://www.optus.com.au/about/media-centre/media-releases/2023/11/optus-invests-to-protect-bushfire-prone-communities.
I cannot find out what MY base station's remaining vulnerabilities are, nor understand it's dependancies. Can *that one* last 20 hours without power? Can it's upstream links? Can I send an SMS over it if it is disconnected from Optus' authentication, authorisation and billing systems? What about Telstra? Coverage of both is good and I can see both towers - an advantage of living on a hill.

Without solid answers, I am looking to add some backup communications channel. I have an existing #LoRaWAN setup, and am wondering about firming it up and extending it out to very long range. The safe place I will be during the fire is about 10km away. Maybe that is the best independent path? But, maybe I should use some UHF data medium instead of LoRa? Something plainer, more commonly understood and dull?

Questions:
Anyone have resilience information for 4G SMS networks?
Should I buy a #Telstra or Optus #SIM?
Backup medium? What is the most solid thing for, say 10km?

What does The Department of #Radio Mastodon think please?

One of my YouTube subscribers asked me for my thoughts and analysis on the 3G shutdown in Australia. I like to think of myself as an obliging chap, so here it is!

#Australia #3G #4G #5G #Telstra #Optus #Vodafone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-C4bvZwvQ_o

I forgot that the mobile service inside the Canberra Centre has gotten pretty bad lately. The public wifi works much better.