Today, the Telstra 2G GSM mobile phone network was shut down due to a declining 2G customer base.
In April next year, the Optus 2G network will be shut down, and the following September, the Vodafone 2G network will do so too.
When the 2G mobile network is completely shut down in Australia, it was around for almost 25 years, compared to about 13 years for the analog mobile phone network and about 9 years for the CDMA network (which started replacing the analog network in 1999 which the analog network was shut down in 2000) in Australia - a combined total of 21 years from 1987 (when the mobile phone network was opened in Australia) to the closure of the Telstra CDMA network in 2008, and I wonder how long it would be until the 3G network is shut down in Australia.
It is most likely that the 2G frequencies vacated would be used for expansion of the 4G mobile network (just like expansion of the Telstra Next G (3.5G) network when the Telstra CDMA network closed), and one month ago, I started receiving cell broadcast messages regarding the Telstra 2G network closure, even though I was not on the Telstra network.
Today, I only recommend for new phone purchases a 4G model with compatible 700 MHz band capability - the best price I saw on eBay was AU$65 for an Alcatel 4G model, which can do the 700MHz band (B28 APT) as used in Australia and certain other countries.
Notably, my neighbours have problems with mobile phone reception because they are in the shadow of a hill; a good question I would ask would be about 4G capability and 700 MHz band support (with a 4G SIM card) and their provider - a Samsung Galaxy S5 I bought a couple of months ago (after getting the 4G SIM card issue fixed with my provider) now has better reception on the network I use (and better battery life) because of 700 MHz band support.
Buying a new phone or travelling overseas? Check out
www.frequencycheck.com (carriers and frequency bands used) and
www.pdadb.net (frequency bands used by particular handheld devices).
One other thing: I am considering a 4G smartwatch phone with 700 MHz B28 support, but the major hurdle I am facing is that such devices usually have an embedded SIM card and my provider is yet to accomodate such devices (I cannot yet find an outline of the procedure for registering embedded SIM devices with a provider such as AT&T!).
