Tens of thousands of handsets and other devices are likely to become redundant by the end of the year as NZ shuts down the 3G phone network

As New Zealand works to pull the plug on the 3G network by Christmas, telecos aim to avoid the debacle that happened in Australia when it did the same last year

Paul Brislen is on a mission this year and it could probably be summed up as 'don't stuff things up like Australia did'.

It's to do with New Zealand's 3G networks being shut down by the end of 2025, and upgraded to the next generation of technology.

It's a world-wide move and Australia turned its 3G off last year. The trouble is, the repercussions are still going on there - to the extent that a Senate committee is investigating why some customers were left worse off, unable to make calls or send text messages in areas where they previously could - and that included emergency calls…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details