Telstra Outage Disrupts Calls and Triple Zero Access Across Australia

A major Telstra outage on Wednesday prevented thousands of mobile customers from making calls or accessing data across Australia. The company, which operates about 25 million mobile services, confirmed the disruption and said 90 percent of services were restored after 10 a.m. AEST.

Some triple-zero emergency calls failed to connect, and the outage also affected train networks and electric vehicles that rely on mobile coverage. Telstra’s chief financial officer, Michael Ackland, stated on Wednesday evening that the network issues had been fully resolved. Ackland said the outage was not the result of a cyber incident and attributed it to a problem with a time-keeping server.

Communications Minister Anika Wells returned from leave to oversee the response. She said the federal Triple Zero Custodian had advised Telstra that some callers were unable to reach emergency services. Welfare checks are under way for people who could not connect to Triple Zero, and the Triple Zero Custodian remains in regular contact with Telstra for updates on those checks.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority will review the incident. Wells noted that all telcos, including Telstra, face strict requirements for welfare checks after disconnected Triple Zero calls. Shadow Communications Minister Sarah Henderson said she called Triple Zero twice during the outage and notified a senior Telstra representative when the calls did not connect.

Henderson stated she had not asked staff to make similar test calls. Wells said there is no current evidence the outage was caused by malicious activity apart from statements by two parliamentarians. Opposition figures Barnaby Joyce and Angus Taylor questioned whether the outage was linked to a Chinese missile test in the Pacific earlier in the week.