A telco customer has died after their phone could not make calls to the emergency line on Australia’s third-largest mobile network.
TPG, which also operates the Vodafone and Lebara brands in Australia, revealed a person had died on Thursday when their Samsung phone could not make triple zero calls.
“This is a tragic incident, and our condolences and thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones,” TPG Telecom CEO Inaki Berroeta said.
“Customer safety remains our highest priority.
“Access to emergency services is critical.”
At the time the Sydney-based caller attempted to reach the emergency hotline through Lebara, there were no outages and the telco’s network was operational.
But early investigations indicated that the calls failed because the customer’s ageing Samsung phone was using software incompatible with making triple zero calls.
Some older devices had been identified by Samsung as needing a software update to be able to call the emergency line on TPG’s network.
Though the death occurred on Thursday, TPG Telecom was not informed until Monday, when it received advice from NSW Ambulance.
The company has since urged customers with affected devices to update their phones and anyone that has not done so after five weeks will have their handset blocked.
Other telcos have taken identical measures since the Samsung-specific issue with the Vodafone network was discovered by Telstra and Optus in late October.
“We urge all customers with outdated software to replace or update their devices without delay to ensure they can reach triple zero in an emergency,” Mr Berroeta said.
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells, the Triple Zero Custodian, the NSW government and the telecommunications watchdog have all been notified, TPG Telecom said.
The telecommunications industry has been under immense scrutiny in recent months after an Optus outage that left hundreds of triple-zero calls unable to be connected and was linked to three deaths.
Optus’s chief executive Stephen Rue has so far survived calls for his sacking and has been hauled before parliament to be grilled about his company’s six-hour delay in informing the Australian Communications and Media Authority and Ms Wells.
The federal government has introduced new rules that require telcos to report outages to the communications watchdog and emergency services in real time.
SAMSUNG PHONES REQUIRING REPLACEMENT
* Galaxy A7 2017
* Galaxy A5 2017
* Galaxy J1 2016
* Galaxy J3 2016
* Galaxy J5 2017
* Galaxy Note 5
* Galaxy S6
* Galaxy S6 edge
* Galaxy S6 Edge+
* Galaxy S7
* Galaxy S7 Edge
Another 60 Samsung devices require a software update if they don’t already have it.