Failure of triple-0 services leaves Telstra exposed to fine

Telstra faces the prospect of a fine for failing to keep the triple-0 emergency call services running.

Telstra faces an inquiry by the Australian Communications and Media Authority over the Triple-0 outage.

Telstra faces the prospect of a fine for failing to keep the triple-0 emergency call services running, after back-up equipment was ­unable to cover for an outage ­believed to have been caused by a lightning strike in central-west NSW.

The service disruption started at 2am yesterday after a key interstate cable was damaged by a fire which Telstra said was consistent with a lightning strike, knocking out services across NSW, Vic­toria, South Australia and Western Australia.

With questions being asked as to why Telstra didn’t have safeguards in place, the company’s chief engineer, Mike Wright, conceded there was a secondary technical problem.

According to Mr Wright, a problem in the routing network, which moves the traffic from a damaged cable to an alternative, led to the disruption.

“Most call traffic was successfully diverted to alternative cables and equipment,” he said. “However, an issue occurred with the routing of some traffic which ­resulted in intermittent disruptions to triple-0 calls.”

While the service was restored by 11am yesterday, Telstra now faces an inquiry by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, under the auspices of the Department of Communications, that could lead to a penalty.

It was not known last night if there had been any adverse outcomes as a result of the outage.

“The Department of Communications manages the contract with Telstra to deliver the triple-0 service. The contract requires Telstra to meet all legislated and regulatory requirements,” a ­department spokesman said.

Telstra has a long-term contract worth up to $22 million a year to operate the service.

The current contract, in effect since July 2012, was negotiated as part of broader negotiations between Telstra and NBN Co. Telstra also levies a fee from the other telcos every time one of their customers makes a triple-0 call.

The Weekend Australian understands that Telstra charges $2 a call, with the telco pocketing the proceeds on top of the $22m ­contract.

Given Telstra’s contractual obligations, the company is liable to pay a penalty in case of disruption to the triple-0 service.

The extent of the fine will be determined only after ACMA completes its investigation.

The Weekend Australian understands that emergency ser­vices officials have expressed concern at how long it took ­Telstra to rectify the problem.

“It should have rerouted and it didn’t and big questions are being asked,” one source said.

Telecom industry sources also told The Weekend Australian that Telstra had been slow to advise other carriers about the nature of the incident and its impact.

“We’ll be raising, and we ­expect others will also ask, some serious questions about the management of this incident, including communications,” Vodafone Hutchison Australia’s chief strategy officer, Dan Lloyd, said.

The incident prompted Communications Minister Mitch ­Fifield to get in touch with Telstra chief executive Andy Penn and could reignite the process of modernising the triple-0 service.

In 2016, the federal gov­ernment flagged plans to overhaul the service delivered through a public switched telephone network (PSTN) to an IP-based service.

One of the ideas explored by the government was a shared ­delivery model in which telcos other than Telstra would be able to manage and deliver the ­triple-0 service.

It is an outcome that Telstra, which holds the contract until 2032, is keen to avoid. Mr Penn said yesterday that the triple-0 service had an exceptional track record.

Triple-0 is a very important service and, to my knowledge, I can’t recall an issue that’s affected ... (it) in many, many years,” he said.