It's been a feature of phone coverage for decades, but within a year all of Australia's 3G networks will have been switched off.

The shutdown will begin in December of this year, and is expected to impact millions of devices across the nation.

This is what you need to know about it.

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When is the 3G network shutting down?

Australia's 3G networks will shut down in stages, beginning in December.

Vodafone will be the first company to switch off its network on December 15. Telstra will follow, with all its 3G services ending on June 30, 2024, while Optus will be the last to shut its 3G doors in September 2024.

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How many people will the shutdown affect?

While we don't know exactly how many people the shutdown will impact, an estimate earlier this year put the number of 3G-reliant devices in Australia at about 3 million – most of which are older ones that have been around for at least five or six years.

All of them will stop working after the shutdown.

These include phones, eftpos machines, cars, tablets and security cameras.

Concerningly, it's estimated that 200,000 of those devices are medical alarms.

"An elder or someone else with a vulnerability who is relying on that alarm for an emergency response simply won't get one," David Waldie from medical alarm company Eevi said.

There are some concerns that switching off the 3G network will reduce mobile coverage in regional areas that don't yet have access to 4G or 5G.

Telstra said it is committed to providing 4G coverage in all 3G areas before the shutdown. Optus has made no such commitment on its website, while Vodafone said its 4G coverage is "similar in size" to its 3G offering.

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How do I find out if my device is affected?

The easiest way to find out whether a device you have is going to be affected by the shutdown is to contact the manufacturer.

"Don't put off checking that device, make sure you get to that as soon as possible to make sure you're not caught out," Stephen Fenech from Tech Guide said.

You can also get in touch with your phone provider – Optus has even put out a list of its 20 most-used devices that will be impacted, which includes the iPhone 5, 5C and 5S, Google Pixel 2 XL, and Samsung Galaxy S5.

Some companies, like Eevi, are reaching out to customers to make sure they stay connected.

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What can I do if my device will be impacted?

In short, you'll need to purchase a replacement that is compatible with the 4G or 5G networks if you want to keep accessing phone and internet services.

In some cases, this might be as simple a task as changing your SIM card from a mini or micro SIM to a nano one, while in other cases you may need to buy a whole new phone or other device.

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Why is the 3G network shutting down?

While 3G used to be the main pillar of mobile coverage around Australia, it's now used far less frequently, as modern devices instead rely more on the faster 4G and 5G networks.

That means phone providers have a huge amount of their network dedicated to a service that isn't used – and is only going to become less and less relevant in the future.

By shutting down 3G coverage, a provider like Telstra or Optus can take the radio frequency bands it used for that network and repurpose to improve and expand 4G or 5G coverage – a process known as "re-farming".

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"The demand and the consumption of data has been increasing exponentially," Chris Taylor from Telstra said.

"That's why we need to move our customers onto the 4G and 5G networks."

The process isn't unique to Australia – similar 3G shutdowns have happened or been announced in the UK, USA and New Zealand.

The wealthy benefactor behind a Melbourne mum found dead in the apartment he paid for asked her family to end contact so he could clear his head after her death, jurors have heard.

Ellie Price's rent, some expenses and Mercedes sports car were all paid for by her friend Mark Gray, a brothel owner she met at a Melbourne club three years before her death.

Price's boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro is standing trial for her murder in the Victorian Supreme Court, but it's her relationship with the other man that has been the focus of the trial.

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Family considered Gray, an accountant 31 years Price's senior, to be her only close friend in Melbourne.

Price's mother, Tracey Gangell, told jurors she considered herself to be close to Gray also after her daughter's death.

The court heard Gray gifted her family $25,000 to share for Christmas when Ellie Price was still alive in 2019.

Gangell told jurors she could also recall him giving the same gift for Christmas in 2020, after her daughter's death.

Police discovered Price's body, with her throat cut, in the bedroom of her South Melbourne apartment in early May 2020.

But prosecutors allege she was killed by Barbaro in the early hours of April 29.

Family raised the alarm after Price failed to answer calls, but Gangell said she never asked Gray to go check on her daughter.

"Ellie always called me back and I didn't want to hassle Mark," she said.

Gangell wasn't sure how much contact she had with Gray in early 2020, but said after her daughter's death and in the lead-up to a committal hearing to determine if Barbaro would stand trial they would speak on the phone or via text multiple times a week.

Jurors have heard text messages between Gray and Price's older sister, Danielle Price, appear to show him coaching his young friend's family on what to say during that hearing.

"My tip is to memorise three phrases – I don't know, not to my knowledge and I'm not sure. They'll hate that lol," he said in one message to Danielle Price.

Gangell said it did appear from texts as if he was trying to coach them, but she couldn't remember being shown those messages and said Gray never sent her anything like that.

Text messages between the pair after Price's death could not be retrieved.

Gangell said contact with Gray ended after the committal hearing in May 2021, at his request.

"He said that he needed time to heal and get his head straight and if I can respect that, so after that I stopped sending messages," she said.

Other texts shown to jurors reveal Gray said he intended a brothel he was opening in South Melbourne to be Price's business.

House prices have doubled over the past 10 years in suburbs across Australia.

A Victorian residential builder has reassured it will complete its customers' homes after it "had no choice" but to enter voluntary administration.

The Harmac Group, which is the parent company of Harmac Homes, Harmac Constructions, Harmac Urban Living and Ridge Homes, yesterday appointed Shaun Matthews and Barry Wight from Cor Cordis to restructure the business.

The Harmac Group is an experienced new home builder in Melbourne and regional Victoria and has display homes in Bendigo, Werribee, Ballarat, Donnybrook, Mickleham, Sunbury and Leopold.

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The group has admitted that is is facing economic challenges, but has emphasised that it has not collapsed, telling customers in a letter that it plans to get the "business back on track" to complete their homes.

"We understand this is disappointing news for our customers, but want them – and our trades, suppliers and other stakeholders – to know Harmac Homes has not collapsed and is not in liquidation," a statement from Harmac Homes reads.

"Our intention is to work closely with the Administrators on a plan to get the business onto a stronger footing and to get customers' homes built.

"It's no secret that builders are facing many challenges right now, with spiralling materials and labour costs and rising inflation putting unprecedented pressure on the construction sector.

"Given these economic challenges, we had no choice but to enter voluntary administration."

The company has told its customers that work on all its build will stop for the next five weeks.

"This is a pause, not a stop," managing directors Paul McMahon and Bryan Milne have reassured in a letter.

It's understood about 50 homes will be affected. However, a spokesperson for the group has told 9news.com.au the company hopes about 15 of the homes will be able to be completed and handed to customers during this time.

Cor Cordis has said in a statement that it will "urgently assess the business operations and explore all options to restructure or recapitalise the businesses, including through a deed of company arrangement" while construction is halted.

The Harmac Group is the latest in a series of construction companies to be sent into administration by the construction industry crisis.

It could soon be time to say goodbye to the familiar sight of a Coles Express at your local servo, with one major fuel retailer awaiting approval for a new merger with a South Australian store chain.

Viva Energy is waiting for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to rule on its proposed merger with OTR, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported.

The decision is expected next month.

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Viva is building a network of convenience petrol stations around the country that it would rebrand Coles Express locations with the OTR label if the deal is approved.

"We intend to take the OTR offer and brand nationally by implementing this progressively across the existing Coles Express network and within all stores that get opened over the coming years," Viva chief executive Scott Wyatt said when the deal was announced earlier this year.

"OTR will be our flagship convenience brand, replacing Coles Express over time, and very much representing the future of our convenience business."

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Over the next three years the combined group aims to build a network of nearly 1000 convenience stores, and more than 250 specialty stores across Australia, employing more than 12,000 people.

OTR's website says the company has 180 stores across South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory, and Western Australia.

As well as groceries and petrol, the stores also serve food from major brand such as Subway, Hungry Jacks and Oporto.

Eight people were killed in Moscow after they became trapped underground by flood waters during a guided tour of the city's sewers.

Russian media reported on Tuesday the bodies of the eight people who took part in an unauthorised group tour of Moscow's sewers have been found by authorities.

"As of today, all eight members of the group have been found dead. The search operation is over," a spokesman for the city's emergency services told TASS.

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Water levels in the sewers rose quickly after a torrential downpour on Sunday and the victims couldn't flee to the surface.

The group was reported to have been exploring the underground Neglinka river, a tributary of the Moskva River.

Russian authorities have charged three organisers of the tour with failing to meet safety standards and causing death through negligence.

The offences carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Originally more than 20 people signed up for the tour, the Ria news agency said, although most of them later withdrew because heavy rain was forecast.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the apologies offered by Luis Rubiales, President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), for giving Spain midfielder Jennifer Hermoso an unwanted kiss on the lips are "not enough."

Amid widespread criticism of the incident, including from the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE), Sánchez answered questions from reporters on Tuesday and said that "what we saw was an unacceptable gesture".

"Regarding Mr. Rubiales and all the controversy that has taken place, in the first place I believe that they, the players, they have done everything to win," Sánchez said.

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"But it is true that there has been some behaviour, in this case of Mr. Rubiales, which shows that in our country there is still a long way to go in terms of equality and respect and in this equalisation of rights between women and men.

"The apologies made by Mr. Rubiales are not enough. I even think that they are not appropriate and that, therefore, Mr. Rubiales needs to continue to take steps to clarify what we all saw," added Sánchez.

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Rubiales and Sánchez met earlier on Tuesday and shook hands when the Spain squad visited the Moncloa Palace – the Spanish prime minister's residence – to receive the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit.

"The president of the federation is chosen, or fired, by the federation's members," Sánchez added in response to a question about whether he would look to remove Rubiales from his post.

"I've already said in my first response to your colleagues, that his explanation was insufficient, that Mr. Rubiales has to take more steps to clear up his behaviour, which in any light, is unacceptable.

"It doesn't connect with the majority sentiment of the citizenry, which clearly bets on equality between men and women and which, logically, well we've seen his statements of apology, which I don't know if you've all seen it, but I think that they're insufficient."

CNN has reached out to the RFEF for comment on Sánchez's remarks but did not hear back by the time of publication.

On Monday, Rubiales admitted he "made a mistake" by giving Hermoso a kiss on the lips after the 33-year-old had collected her winners' medal following the Women's World Cup final victory over England.

Rubiales has faced widespread criticism for the incident, with his behaviour labelled "unacceptable" and "simply disgusting".

"Hey, I didn't like it, eh," Hermoso said as she apparently answered questions about the incident in an Instagram live video, a clip of which was shared by Spanish journalist Irati Vida on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Later in the Instagram live video – taken in Spain's locker room – Hermoso fields a question from another woman: "But what were you doing, sis?" The 33-year-old replies: "But what am I supposed to do?"

On the radio program El Tiempo de Juego on Cadena COPE, Hermoso spoke of the kiss on Sunday, saying "she didn't expect it" but that "it was because of the emotion of the moment, there's nothing more there. It's just going to be an anecdote [of the time]. I'm absolutely sure it won't be blown up more."

Reaction

AFE, which seeks to defend the rights of Spanish soccer players, called Rubiales' actions "lamentable."

"The physical gestures directed towards any person, in this case a footballer, are never appropriate or acceptable in whichever context without the express consent of the affected person," a statement from AFE read.

"It's especially serious given what happened with Jennifer Hermoso who found herself in a state of clear vulnerability before a person in a position of power over her who initiated an approach or realising a physical gesture."

The independent body called for authorities to seek legal remedies through the Law of Sport, should Rubiales not resign "immediately."

The issue has been widely condemned in Spain, including from politicians across the political spectrum.

"We maintain our asking of the resignation of the gentleman who belittled and assaulted a woman. His excuses serve absolutely nothing," Yolanda Díaz, Spain's acting second deputy prime minister and leader of the Sumar party, said in a press conference.

Cuca Gamarra, parliamentary spokesperson and secretary general of the Partido Popular, also said: "All institutional leaders should have exemplary behavior and that exemplary nature should be respect towards women and what we saw in that final in this sense was shameful. Only shame comes to my mind, at a minimum."

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Jacob Ramsay was beaten, chained to a car and dragged to his death.

A Queensland mother is calling for change after she claims she was denied food at a hospital because she wasn't breastfeeding her baby.

Brisbane lawyer Sarah Stoddard's 12-week-old daughter Sophie woke up in the middle of the night unwell three weeks ago.

"I knew something was wrong. She took the milk and then basically projectile vomited everywhere and just the temperature coming off her skin was crazy," Stoddard told 9News.

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For any parent or caregiver, this can be a stressful experience with the pain of watching a sick child suffering a fever, vomiting, or painful cries.

A frantic trip to an emergency department can ensue, which only adds to the stress.

For Stoddard, the emergency department visit turned into a bureaucratic nightmare.

Twelve hours after arriving at Prince Charles Hospital's emergency department where Stoddard's daughter was admitted, she asked staff whether she'd be able to get access to a meal.

She was then handed a welcome sheet.

"They had circled and brought to my attention that only breastfeeding mothers were entitled to meals," she said.

"First of all [it] made me feel devastated and guilty but then quite enraged, that that is a decision that is being made in this country and this state in 2023."

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Stoddard was given an exception for one meal and was told the staff would "sneak through an approval". But with her partner at home taking care of the couple's other children, Stoddard said she was made to feel guilty for a decision she had made for the benefit of her and her baby.

Vowing to fight for change, Stoddard shared her experience with 9News to help other mums.

"In that first trimester and beyond they're already struggling with enough, they don't need the judgement from the government as to how they chose to feed their child," she said.

9News raised the issue with Metro North Health and can reveal as a result of Stoddard's complaint and experience the hospital has changed its policy at the Prince Charles Hospital and others in the region, including the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

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"The Prince Charles Hospital now provides meals to parents of children six months and under who are admitted into our care," it said in a statement.

"Parents of all patients admitted to the Paediatric Ward at The Prince Charles Hospital have access to food, water, tea and coffee.

"Further paid options, including fresh food vending machines, cafes and a stocked fridge, are accessible 24hrs a day."

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said: "In my view it shouldn't really matter whether you are breastfeeding or not, it should be about trying to make our parents who are doing the best they can to look after their sick kids as comfortable as possible."

Fentimen said she will be working with other hospitals across the state to make sure mothers – breastfeeding or not – are provided with food during a hospital stay with their child.