Voice usage on Spark’s 3G network has declined by 70 percent since the telco announced its impending shutdown last June, with the service on track to close on 31 March.
According to Spark, customers are preparing for its nationwide 3G shutdown with usage of 3G services down across the board.
In addition to the decline in voice usage, 3G data usage was down 50 percent and now accounted for only 0.25 percent of Spark’s total network data traffic.
Meanwhile, 4G data usage was up by 17 percent and 5G data usage up 37 percent, Spark said.
Customers have also been busy ditching 3G devices for 4G and 5G compatible models.
Spark’s stats revealed the top five unsupported devices customers have upgraded from were the iPhone 6, Huawei Y5, Galaxy J2 Pro, Galaxy S7 and Pocket 2.
Samsung Galaxy models were the most popular replacement devices with the top five smartphones customers upgraded to being the Galaxy A06 5G, Galaxy A17 5G, Galaxy A56 5G, Galaxy A07 and HMD 2660 Flip.
Over 110,000 Spark customers had used Spark’s free SMS service to check if their device was 4G or 5G compatible and more than 10,000 had checked their device compatibility online, Spark added.
The telco had also sent over 2 million notifications via email, text, letters, pre-call announcements and bill inserts to help customers through the transition with guidance on the change and how to transition to 4G and 5G networks, while a dedicated 3G customer support team handled more than 7,000 calls, giving advice and helping customers take the necessary steps to stay connected.
In addition, Spark partnered with the Digital Equity Coalition Aotearoa (DECA) to support at-risk and digitally excluded communities through the transition, while it ran a mass awareness campaign with the Telecommunications Forum (TCF) spanning radio, print, small-format out-of-home, and digital channels.
Spark network evolution general manager Michael Molony said shutting down the 3G network, which was launched almost 17 years ago, took years of planning, from upgrading sites and reallocating spectrum, to testing critical services and working closely with customers to ensure a smooth transition.
“We have been proactively communicating with customers for several years, and thousands have already taken action as 3G usage continues to decline – with now just 2 percent of all devices on our network, including IoT, still relying on 3G,” he said.
“However, there are still some customers who need to either change their device settings or upgrade their device to stay connected.”
If no action was taken ahead of the shutdown on 31 March, these customers would not be able to access their data, send texts and make calls – including to emergency services,” Molony said.
“We encourage customers not to wait until the last minute, and to check with family and friends who may be affected.”
From this month, Spark customers using phones that rely on 3G would receive more frequent pre-call announcements about the shutdown with a message playing telling them whether their phone needed to be updated or replaced each time they made a call.
Spark would also increase communications to customers via texts, emails, outbound calls, and social media posts to ensure impacted customers were aware of the change they need to make to stay connected.
Both One NZ and 2degrees are also in the process of shuttering their 3G services. Earlier this week 2degrees said it was delaying its shutdown for a week as the country dealt with several states of emergency due to recent severe weather events. Meanwhile, One NZ started its 3G shutdown last week aiming to complete the shutdown by the end of March.
Source: https://www.reseller.co.nz/article/4123819/users-drop-off-spark-3g-network-as-shutdown-looms.html
