17 People Missed During Triple Zero Failure in Telstra Outage

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Queensland police are frantically conducting urgent welfare checks on 17 people who desperately tried to call Triple Zero during Wednesday's telecommunications chaos, but failed to reach emergency services. The nationwide outage, which began around 4am, has left Telstra facing the heat, with the company's 20-year-old 'time travel' glitch to blame.

A police spokesperson said Policelink will conduct welfare checks on all failed calls, working closely with Telstra to identify the impacted customers. 'The Queensland Triple Zero service remains operational, and people who are experiencing an emergency should continue to call Triple Zero,' the Queensland Police Service assured.

Telstra has admitted that over 300 Triple Zero calls across Australia failed during the outage, with the second network fault affecting some calls – including Triple Zero calls – hours after the telco scrambled to resolve the daytime outage.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls expressed his disappointment with Telstra, revealing that he was told on Wednesday there were no missed calls. 'Then we find out that there were misses, and now we are waiting on further information as to what those misses actually were, and whether the callback system had worked,' he said.

Telstra's chief financial officer Michael Ackland is scheduled to speak to media on Thursday morning, amidst rumors of potential penalties in the tens of millions of dollars. The telco was fined more than $3 million in 2024 over an outage that stopped some customers reaching Triple Zero.

Telstra has urged customers affected by the outage to check with their provider about what the outage means for them. 'Impacted customers should check with their provider about what the outage means for them,' the company said.

It's worth noting that the Queensland Health Minister's office is seeking answers from Telstra regarding the missed calls, and the impact on the affected customers. The company is facing intense scrutiny over its handling of the outage and the subsequent failure to identify and reach those in need of emergency services.

The $3 million fine imposed on Telstra in 2024 over the previous outage was a wake-up call for the company. It remains to be seen whether this latest incident will prompt further action from regulators and customers alike.

Australia has a reputation for its reliable telecommunications network, but incidents like this highlight the importance of constant vigilance and investment in infrastructure. As Telstra seeks to restore public trust, the company must demonstrate genuine commitment to preventing such failures in the future. The stakes are high, with potential penalties in the tens of millions of dollars looming large.