TPG says person dead after failed Triple Zero call

The nation’s telco sector is facing renewed scrutiny after TPG Telecom revealed a person died after a Samsung device running outdated software was unable to connect to Triple Zero emergency services.

The exact circumstances are yet to be confirmed, but it is understood that a Sydney-based customer was attempting to contact Triple Zero on behalf of a relative, who later died. TPG said the death occurred on November 13 and the incident was reported by NSW Ambulance on November 17.

The telco said preliminary investigations blamed the failed emergency call on the customer’s Samsung handset, which was running outdated software incompatible with Triple Zero access on TPG’s network.

A Sydney-based customer was attempting to contact Triple Zero on behalf of a relative, who later died, TPG said.Credit: The Age

The telco said no outages were occurring at the time.

“We urge all customers with outdated software to update or replace their devices immediately,” TPG chief executive Inaki Berroeta said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Customer safety remains our highest priority. This is a tragic incident, and our condolences and thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones.”

The company said it had alerted relevant government agencies and regulators, and Communications Minister Anika Wells signalled a probe into the incident.

“This is a tragic situation that will be investigated,” Wells said on Tuesday morning.

“My thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the person who has died. [...] TPG’s compliance with the Emergency Call Service Determination will be rigorously assessed by [communications regulator] ACMA.”

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, the Greens’ spokesperson for communications and chair of the ongoing Senate inquiry into the Optus Triple Zero outage, said the incident highlighted fundamental problems with how emergency services are delivered in Australia.

“Australians clearly can’t trust the big telcos to safely deliver the Triple Zero service,” she said on Tuesday afternoon. “There is no excuse for Triple Zero calls to fail, and ultimately it is up to the government to ensure that all Australians are able to connect to emergency services when they need them.

“The Senate inquiry into the Triple Zero service outage will hold another hearing in December and will be closely looking at this latest issue. The fact that this latest incident has occurred so soon after the Optus Triple Zero outage shows that the system is clearly not fit-for-purpose.”

Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh described the situation as “unacceptable” and called for urgent action. “Time is of the essence. The minister must act now and direct all telecommunications providers to immediately check in with each of the thousands of Samsung device holders to ensure they have either updated the software on their phone or have secured a replacement device,” she said.

“Text messages to update software aren’t good enough. Direct and urgent customer outreach to each person needs to happen now.”

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said in a statement that it was “gathering information to establish the facts of the matter and will investigate to assess whether there has been any non-compliance with the Triple Zero rules. If any breaches are identified, appropriate enforcement action will be taken.”

The tragedy comes just two months after three people died during a major Optus outage in mid-September, when more than 600 calls to Triple Zero emergency services failed to connect. That incident, which lasted more than 90 minutes, prompted a federal government inquiry and led to parliament fast-tracking new legislation to strengthen oversight of emergency calling services.

Communications Minister Anika Wells.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong

The September Optus outage was the second major Triple Zero failure for the telco in two years. In November 2023, more than 2000 calls to emergency services failed to connect during a 12-hour national network outage, resulting in a $12 million fine from ACMA.

The incidents have shaken public confidence in Australia’s emergency services infrastructure and put intense pressure on both telcos and device manufacturers to ensure Triple Zero access.

The watchdog disclosed just last month that some older Samsung mobile phones released between 2015 and 2017 could not automatically switch to alternative networks to complete Triple Zero calls. Testing revealed that 71 Samsung models were affected, with 11 requiring replacement and 60 needing software updates.

The problem stems from legacy firmware configurations that attempt to route emergency calls through Vodafone’s now-defunct 3G network. When Telstra and Optus networks are unavailable, these devices cannot successfully switch to TPG’s 4G network as a back-up.

Wells last month warned that the Samsung phone problems could be “indicative of a broader systemic issue” in Australia’s telecommunications emergency services.

There are tens of thousands of devices nationwide that may be affected by the issue. Some 46,000 devices are thought to be affected across Australia’s three major carriers. TPG identified affected devices last year during preparations for the national shutdown of 3G services and blocked them from its network, sharing information with Telstra and Optus.

However, Telstra engineers recently discovered during testing that the same Samsung devices were still attempting to connect Triple Zero calls via Vodafone’s decommissioned 3G infrastructure. “Why this was configured this way is a question for Samsung and Vodafone,” a Telstra spokesman said.

Vodafone owner TPG described the issues as related to a “legacy configuration within the devices themselves”. The company identified additional Samsung devices this year requiring software updates, and has been blocking devices that haven’t been upgraded, as required under new regulations.

“When TPG Telecom became aware of these handsets on its network, we communicated with customers to urgently update affected devices,” the company said on Tuesday morning. “Handsets not updated are blocked after a period of 28 to 35 days from the first contact to the customer, as required under new regulations.

“The most recent communications to customers with impacted devices was sent on November 7. These updates are critical to ensure compatibility with emergency services and to protect customer safety.”

Under rules that took effect from November 1, telcos must test whether mobile phones can switch to other networks during Triple Zero outages, report failures in real time, and disconnect phone services within 28 to 35 days of notifying customers that their devices cannot connect to emergency services.

Parliament last month also passed legislation creating a new Triple Zero Custodian with compliance powers to ensure emergency services remain accessible. The custodian can impose maximum fines of $30 million for breaches of Triple Zero rules – a tenfold increase from previous penalties.

The government has also ordered telcos to create separate public registers of Triple Zero outages, though carriers have raised concerns about the technical and cost challenges of real-time reporting. TPG warned that implementing real-time reporting for unplanned outages would “require substantial system changes and cost across our operations”.

The opposition’s Melissa McIntosh labelled the Samsung phone problems “potentially a huge issue” at the time and said that Samsung should be called to testify at an ongoing Senate inquiry into Optus’ Triple Zero failures. She criticised the government’s proposal to allow telcos to operate their own outage databases as “secrecy dressed up as accountability”.

Samsung said it is working with carriers “to ensure all devices operate reliably in every emergency situation” and advised customers to contact their carrier or Samsung support on 1300 362 603 if their device is affected.

Both Telstra and Optus began contacting users of affected Samsung models last month to inform them that they need to either upgrade their phone’s software or purchase new devices.

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