Triple-zero emergency number hit by Telstra glitch

The emergency services are there to help Australians in need, but Telstra customers calling triple-zero may not be able to connect to the services this morning.

A glitch by Telstra has meant people trying to make emergency calls to the police, ambulance and fire services have been unable to connect, which could have devastating impacts on people in life or death situations.

Telstra issued a statement on Friday morning explaining a mishap in the early hours of the morning had caused nation0wide outages for some customers on the network.

“A cable cut caused by an unknown party between Orange & Bowral in NSW at 2:05am today (Fri 4 May) caused intermittent mobile voice connection interruptions in NSW, Victoria, South Australia & Queensland,” Telstra tweeted.

“Routers impacted by the cable cut were restored about 4:50am today and services progressively returned to normal. A @Telstra fibre repair crew has been dispatched.”

A cable cut caused by an unknown party between Orange & Bowral in NSW at 2:05am today (Fri 4 May) caused intermittent mobile voice connection interruptions in NSW, Victoria, South Australia & Queensland.

— Telstra News (@Telstra_news) May 3, 2018

Still, it seemed like problems were being felt around the country, with Telstra issuing a further statement saying calls to 000 weren’t getting through in some parts of Australia.

Routers impacted by the cable cut were restored about 4:50am today and services progressively returned to normal. A @Telstra fibre repair crew has been dispatched.

— Telstra News (@Telstra_news) May 3, 2018

Update: There are still intermittent interruptions to 000 calls in NSW, VIC & WA following the cable cut in NSW earlier today. We're working closely with emergency services in those States.

— Telstra News (@Telstra_news) May 3, 2018

“Update: There are still intermittent interruptions to 000 calls in NSW, VIC & WA following the cable cut in NSW earlier today. We’re working closely with emergency services in those States.”

Queensland Police, who are aware of the problem, said people should still attempt calling the number if they are in help.

Read more: Police: 90% of triple zero calls not real emergencies

“Please be advised that if it’s an emergency, ALWAYS call Triple Zero (000),” it said. “We are aware of issues in other parts of the country, but QPS are still receiving 000 calls.”

The states most impacted at this stage appear to be New South Wales and South Australia. It is not yet known how many people have been impacted by the outage.

If anyone can’t get through to the regular 000 number, there is also a Police Assistance Line to help people in need. That number can be reached on 131444. The number is operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

UPDATE: Telstra says a cut cable between Orange and Bowral today caused outages with Triple Zero. #9Today pic.twitter.com/uDhA7rCxJ9

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) May 3, 2018

It’s not the first time Telstra has been in trouble this week. The company was forced to issue an apology on Tuesday after an outage to the 4G network left customers unable to make or receive calls.

“The issue was caused by technical changes made ahead of upgrades to mobile traffic control equipment in Telstra’s Exhibition Street exchange in Melbourne,” Telstra said in a statement. “The issue was progressively resolved by reversing the changes. We are sorry that some customers were unable to make or receive calls as this was occurring.”

It is not believed the latest outage has anything to do with the issues experienced by Telstra customers earlier in the week.

What do you think? Have you had trouble getting through to the emergency services this morning?