Telstra emergency service outage ‘a near-miss’ – with lessons to be learnt
Peak communications consumer body ACCAN has expressed concern following today’s news that Telstra has been fined for failing to maintain access for more than 12 hours to the 106 emergency call service used by Australians with hearing and speech impairments.This represents a critical failure in Telstra’s duty as the nation’s designated emergency service call provider and falls well short of the standard the public expects from Australia’s largest telecommunications company.ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said that the incident must be treated as a warning sign—and a call to action to modernise Australia’s emergency call infrastructure.“People with hearing impairments rely on the 106 service as their lifeline to emergency assistance. When this fails, their safety is at risk,” Ms Bennett said.“We are...