TPG boss reveals second death linked to triple-0 failure
Telecommunications bosses have been accused of covering up a second death linked to emergency call failures, at a Senate inquiry as Telstra and TPG are asked about how it unfolded.
TPG Telecom chief executive Inaki Berroeta has revealed a second person may have died after they failed to connect to triple-0 using an older Samsung phone.
Mr Berroeta was the first CEO to appear at a Senate inquiry into fatal flaws in Australia’s emergency call system on Tuesday.
He began apologising to the family of a Sydney person who died last month after a relative failed to connect to triple-0 using an older Samsung device.
But he said a second person, in Wentworth Falls, NSW, may have also died after failing to make a 4G emergency call.
“We have also provided information to the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) in respect of another customer who was reported to us who could not make triple-0 calls in September this year, that customer was able to contact emergency services via an alternative option after five minutes,” he said.
“We were told that the call might have been made in connection to someone that has passed away. We have sought to clarify the circumstances, but the relevant agency has not verified this.”
Mr Berroeta said TPG has sought further clarification from NSW Ambulance.
“We just found out yesterday. One Telstra staff mentioned to one of our staff that there might be a person that passed away related to this incident, but that is something that we have asked NSW ambulance, and they cannot verify.”
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady also gave evidence at the inquiry. Telstra operates the Triple-0 call service and liaises with emergency services.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young accused Telstra of engaging in a cover-up after the inquiry heard that it didn’t tell TPG about the second death linked to a triple-0 failure.
“I am absolutely flabbergasted that despite … the huge public concern we have about this issue - this is a very serious Senate inquiry that’s been underway, there is another inquiry being run into triple zero and Optus - and not at one point in this did anyone within the industry want to fess up and say there’d been another death six days later,” Ms Hanson-Young said.
“It’s a cover up. You’re all looking after yourselves.”
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady said the telco notified the Communications Department about the death but TPG CEO Inaki Berroeta said he only learned about it on Monday.
“We understood that the ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) and NSW Ambulance, were investigating. So it’s not, I think, our responsibility, and given respect to the family involved, not for us to share that publicly,” Ms Brady said.
“We knew that NSW ambulance was engaging with TPG. We knew that TPG’s technical teams were engaging with our technical teams, so they were aware that a device was unable to make a Triple-0 call. That obviously is a matter for TPG to then investigate and understand what happened in that particular circumstance.”
Samsung Australia head of mobile Eric Chou said the flaw had affected 71 older phone models, 61 of which could be fixed with a software upgrade, while the remaining 10 would need to be replaced with newer handsets.
He said Samsung provided TPG with the model numbers of the affected phones in 2021 - about two years before the 3G shutdown.
Fatal flaw in old phones
Tens of thousands of Australians are unknowingly carrying a ‘phone of death’ – a mobile device that could fail to connect to emergency services when their primary network is unavailable.
It’s a fatal flaw that has already been linked to at least one person dying.
The crisis, which spans all three major network operators – Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone owner TPG Telecom – has prompted an industry-wide scramble to block or force software updates on older Samsung and iPhone devices.
The core vulnerability, a deadly technical oversight, affects numerous older handsets whose software fails to correctly switch to an alternate mobile network when the user’s primary service is out of range or suffering an outage. This crucial feature is designed to ensure all emergency calls connect, regardless of the user’s subscription.
The human cost of this flaw was revealed last month when Vodafone owner TPG Telecom confirmed a person died in Sydney after one of its customers – understood to be a relative of the deceased – failed to connect to triple-0 using an older Samsung phone. The incident has exposed a systemic failure that has left mobile networks, and the national emergency service, vulnerable.
Optus figures reveal the alarming scale of the domestic risk. As of December 3, the telco has identified 33,209 customers on various Samsung devices who urgently require a software upgrade. This figure, which includes Optus consumer, business and wholesale customers, is described by the company as an “apples for apples” comparison with Telstra’s figure of 114,527 affected devices.
In addition to those needing a fix, Optus confirmed that a further 17,000 Samsung devices that cannot be repaired with a software update have been permanently blocked from the network as of November 24, rendering them incapable of making or receiving any calls – including life-and-death emergency calls.
An Optus spokeswoman said the customers whose devices were identified as unsafe have all been sent SMS and email communications explaining that a software upgrade or replacement is required to continue to connect to triple-0 when the Optus and Telstra networks are unavailable.
The spokeswoman urged customers to take immediate action by following the instructions provided, visiting an Optus store, or calling the Optus Customer Centre for assistance.
But the problem is not exclusive to Optus or Samsung.
Telstra group executive global networks and tech Shailin Sehgal confirmed that Telstra had also identified a number of older Samsung devices that are not correctly connecting to the Vodafone mobile network when other networks are unavailable.
“We immediately notified Samsung and the other network operators when we discovered the issue,” Mr Sehgal said earlier this year. “Given the nature of the issue, we’re legally obligated to inform customers impacted and block devices from our network that are not fixed.”
He clarified that the issue does not relate to the Telstra network itself, and it does not impact the ability to call triple-0 while using the Telstra or Optus networks. The danger only arises when both the primary network and the secondary option fail, leaving the device stranded.
The industry-wide response, prompted by a death and regulatory pressure, suggests the issue is far more widespread than previously acknowledged. The initial ‘catch-all’ estimate cited by the ACMA at a supplementary senate estimates hearing was 470,000 potential Optus devices, suggesting the current figures may only represent the tip of a dangerous technological iceberg.
Separately, from December 20 next year, some older iPhone models will no longer support Vodafone’s Wi-Fi calling feature, including the ability to make triple-0 calls over Wi-Fi. Customers using an iPhone 8, 8 Plus, X, 11 or later must update to the latest iOS software, while those with an iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 7, 7 Plus, and SE (2016) Gen 1 must replace their phones entirely when the feature is disabled in 12 months.
Originally published as TPG boss reveals second death linked to triple-0 failure
