Telstra identifies secondary outage issue as senator reports ‘tragic death’
Telstra says it has identified a new error hours after services were restored following a nationwide outage.
The telco admitted on Wednesday evening that far more emergency calls were impacted than first thought, and a senator has reported a “tragic death” linked to the tech failure.
Telstra chief financial officer Michael Ackland speaks after a major network outage this morning. Alexander Darling
In a press conference on Wednesday evening, the telco’s chief financial officer, Michael Ackland, said a software defect has been identified as the cause of the problem, categorically ruling out any suggestion of a cyberattack.
“I want to be clear that this was not the result of a cyber incident,” he said, adding it may take a while for some customers to get service back.
“It may take some time for all devices to reconnect correctly, and we encourage customers still facing issues to restart their phone or device.
“We are still conducting our investigation into the root cause, but we are confident we have identified a software defect and have been able to isolate it.”
Ackland said more than 300 Triple Zero calls failed as a result of the outage.
But a few hours later, at 9.30pm, the telco said it had identified a “secondary issue impacting some calls including Triple Zero”, resulting in an error message and the phone trying to connect to another network.
Telstra suggested waiting up to 90 seconds for the phone to connect to another network or using a different phone.
South Australian Senator Kerrynne Liddle said her office had received a report of a “tragic death following an apparent failure to connect to Triple Zero during a life-or-death emergency” amid the outage.
South Australian Senator Kerrynne Liddle said her office had received a report of a “tragic death”. Supplied
“This death of an elderly South Australian represents a devastating failure for their family,” she said.
“Our thoughts are with them.
“No Australian should ever be unable to connect to Triple Zero when their life depends on it.”
It was unclear when the reported death occurred or whether it was linked to the primary or secondary outage.
According to Ackland earlier in the evening, the telco made 333 welfare checks – far more than the figure of about three dozen provided on Wednesday morning.
Six of those people told the telco they required emergency assistance.
Ackland did not provide an update on their condition.
A further 79 people who could not be reached by Telstra were referred to police.
Telstra said it would conduct welfare checks any time it detected a failed Triple Zero call.
Telstra Chief Financial Officer Michael Ackland has explained how the data breach occurred. Nine
Of the more than 300 failed emergency calls, some customers who were unable to get through to Triple Zero managed to successfully connect using the TPG and Optus networks.
Following the outage, Ackland urged customers to be vigilant about scams.
“We have seen some reports of customers receiving calls from fraudsters trying to take advantage of this moment,” he said.
Telstra is Australia’s biggest telecommunications provider. Getty
“Our advice to our customers is if you get a call from someone claiming to be from Telstra asking you for details in light of today’s outage, please hang up and call us directly.
“We are deeply sorry for the impact this issue has had on so many today.
“We know how much our customers rely on us to get it right – to do their jobs, run their businesses, stay safe and keep in touch.”
Payment outage hits thousands of businesses
The failure affected phone calls for customers and impacted a payment system used by about 80,000 businesses.
Communication Workers Union national secretary Shane Murphy called the outage “utterly shameful” and claimed it was a direct result of Telstra running down its staff.
“This is what happens when you prioritise the bottom line over critical services,” Murphy said.
“You get an unreliable network that lets Australians down time and time again.”
Problems hit in early morning
Telstra customers started to experience difficulties about 4.30am.
The company confirmed in a statement about 6.30am it was investigating the outage.
The company confirmed by 10am that about 90 per cent of its calls and data were “now flowing successfully across the network”.
Telstra sub-brands Belong and Boost also went down, while Aldi Mobile, which operates on the Telstra Network, also experienced issues.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the Australian Communications and Media Authority would conduct a full investigation.
Earlier on Wednesday, thousands of users reported zero bars of coverage, with SOS or satellite options showing for emergency calls.
Telstra’s share price was down 2.4 per cent just after 2pm on Wednesday.
V/Line service disruptions to continue
All of Victoria’s regional train services continued to be impacted even after Telstra had resolved its issue.
Transport Victoria confirmed V/Line trains would not run on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
V/Line trains went into complete shutdown, with no services operating since early on Wednesday morning. April Glover
“A very limited coach service will operate, so please defer travel if you can,” a spokesperson said.
“V/Line coaches, metro trains, trams and buses are not impacted, but services may be busier than usual.”
There were long queues at Southern Cross Station on Wednesday evening as commuters waited for replacement buses.
Travellers were asked to find their own way home due to the demand.
There were also some impacts to NSW train services.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday morning the outage had impacted services on some train lines.
This included services between Newcastle Interchange and Maitland on the Hunter line and trains between Campbelltown and Goulburn on the Southern Highlands line.
Advocacy group calls for ‘full explanation’
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network said Telstra owed customers a full explanation.
“Telstra needs to come out and provide clear, transparent information about what has happened, who is affected, and when services will be restored,” chief executive Carol Bennett said.
She said the impact was “immediate and real”.
“This is only the latest in a spate of reliability flashpoints across the Australian telco sector,” she said.
“Consumers are right to ask: how much longer before these companies are held to account for their networks, with enforceable reliability requirements rather than voluntary commitments?”
Companies that operate on the Telstra Network
- Aldi Mobile
- Belong
- Boost Mobile
- Everyday Mobile (Woolworths)
- Exetel
- EZEE Mobile
- More
- Superloop
- Tangerine Telecom
- Tyro
- V/Line Trains
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