16 October 2024
TRANSCRIPT
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson interview with John Mackenzie.
Radio 4CA Cairns
Subject: what small, family and farming businesses need to know about 3G shutdown
John Mackenzie
This is an important message for a whole lot of people in business especially and it's just arrived on my desk. It says small and family businesses have just 12 days to make sure they don't have their vital business systems and equipment fail when the 3G network is switched off. This is on the 28th of October. It may impact on you, listen closely. I’m going to talk with Bruce Billson, who’s the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman about how to avoid a potential catastrophe in your business. Bruce, good morning.
Bruce Billson
John, fab to be with you sir, and your listeners.
John Mackenzie
There will be people hearing this who think I didn't know about this, I’ve only got 12 days, what will I do? Good question. What will they do Bruce?
Bruce Billson
What they should do is make sure they check really important technology and equipment in their business they may use every day and not think of what the wireless communication link is that sits behind them. They probably think about the key functionality of that piece of kit. But if that wireless comms link is 3G enabled, guess what John, the stuff could well not work, and then you'd be caught short when the shutdown happens on the 28th of this month. We're 12 days away, still time to check and that's what I'm urging small, family and farming businesses to do.
John Mackenzie
Once those things close down too it's going to be hard to re-establish them, I presume.
Bruce Billson
And Macca, I imagine there'll be potentially a cavalcade of people wanting stuff fixed. I know the telcos have been talking about handsets, mobile phones, and that's probably the more obvious thing that's out there. And even with those devices, and some 4G devices that still use 3G for emergency calls, that's been a real focus, and the safety aspects attached to that.
What's been less prominent, and what I’m urging people to think about, is all these bits of kit that are operating in small, family and farming businesses that you might only become aware that they're using 3G when they don't work any longer. And that can have a real harmful impact on your business. It could be anything from old EFTPOS terminals so you can't get paid. Those little square pads you see at car parking exits and on vending machine, a lot of those have 3G chips in them all the way through to monitoring devices, medical devices, security systems. And even in the farm sector, the stuff that tracks the soil, water, moisture, environment conditions, even opening and shutting gates. And even some tractors have modems in them that are 3G enabled.
So, check out the stuff before you're caught short by the shutdown of 3G.
John Mackenzie
Is there a list available people can work through?
Bruce Billson
I've put one out with a little bit of tongue-in-cheek, but trying to get people's attention. Which is rather than the Twelve Days of Christmas, we've called it the 12 days til shutdown. And it basically runs through a range of things: EFTPOS terminals, vending machines, medical monitors and sensors, security systems, asset tracking tools, a lot of trucking businesses and equipment hire businesses track where their gear is at by this technology. Environmental monitoring, even some hand-held pads and tablets. I mentioned that some 4G phones have certain functions that run on 3G. Even those elevator telephones. You know, when you're stuck in the elevator, it says pick up the phone and let us know you're in strife, some of those are 3G. I mentioned tractors, fire alarms and even kit that lets you open and shut gates to move the cattle around from the homestead, that can all be 3G enabled.
So best to check. If you're not sure, ring the vendor of the equipment. Or here's an idea, if your listeners include third-party vendors that sell these sorts of equipment and services, maybe as a customer service initiative they could reach out to some of their clients and go, hey, you might want to think about this before is D-Day.
John Mackenzie
How do people get their hands on your list?
Bruce Billson
They can jump on my website, which is www.asbfeo.gov.au It does sound like a sort of Amazonian foot fungus, but that's the acronym for Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman. And there's some helpful resources on the website.
John Mackenzie
Gee, this is really timely. How many days, 12 days. Very good idea to bring up today, Bruce, and have a yarn about this.