Telstra outage: glitches continue as ‘secondary’ outages hit triple-zero calls and regional trains remain stranded
✓Telstra customers are still having trouble calling triple zero on Thursday morning as the telecommunications giant confirmed a secondary issue stemming from Wednesday’s national outage continued to impact calls.
Some who tried to call the emergency hotline were receiving an error message and their phones would try to connect to an alternative network, Telstra said.
Customers have been urged to wait for the phone to connect to another network, or use a different device to make their call.
The federal communications minister, Anika Wells, told ABC radio: “In some instances calls are going straight to message bank. In some instances, 000 calls were not going through.
“It has been largely resolved, but there are still residual problems,” she said.
In a statement early Thursday, Telstra said: “We’re deeply sorry for the impact this issue has had on so many people.”
As of 6.30am on Thursday morning, Telstra said the occurrence of the secondary triple-zero issue had been reduced by 90%.
But the minister for industry, Tim Ayres, told the ABC on Thursday that “100% is the only acceptable figure here”.
The telco’s issues have continued to wreak havoc across Australia.
All the trains on Victoria’s regional rail network were still suspended on Thursday morning, up to and including the morning peak travel period.
Telstra’s 4G network has been interfering with the back-up satellite phones used in the trains when the mobile network is unavailable, according to V/Line’s chief executive, William Tieppo.
Though services could resume before the afternoon peak, Tieppo did not commit to a time.
Regional trains in New South Wales were also interrupted Thursday morning, with buses replacing trains. Some services have resumed on the Southern Highlands and Hunter lines.
Wells said she had not yet heard of any “adverse outcomes” linked to the continuing triple-zero issues as Ayres revealed there would be a full investigation into the outages.
“Communications and digital infrastructure [are] part of the lifeblood of the economy,” he said.
“The framework is there to manage those, to make sure we’ve got a transparent investigative framework and to apply penalties where it’s necessary.”
Thousands of customers were unable to make calls or access data on Wednesday after a software defect affected Telstra’s systems, the telco said.
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The company made more than 300 welfare checks to people who attempted to dial triple zero during the episode.
Of those, 238 said they didn’t need assistance. The remainder were referred to state and territory police for welfare checks. Six customers said they needed assistance, which was provided immediately.
Telstra’s chief executive, Michael Ackland, said on Wednesday the number of calls appeared to be higher than normal.
This suggested some may have been dialling triple zero to check if it worked during the outage, which customers have been urged not to do.
The opposition communications spokesperson, Sarah Henderson, defended her decision to call triple zero during the outage.
“I accept the criticism, but what I will say is that I am in a unique position holding this government to account,” she told 2GB radio on Thursday.
“Telstra’s network is critical infrastructure, this should simply not be happening.”
The telco blamed Wednesday’s issues on a software fault that caused the “GPS node” to reset.
This server tells the rest of the organisation’s systems what the most accurate time is to the nanosecond. A software reset changed the time and synchronisation, which was then passed on to the rest of the Telstra network.
Telcos have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years following major issues at some of Australia’s biggest providers.
Two deaths were linked to an outage at Optus in September 2025, which lasted almost 14 hours and affected hundreds of calls in four states and territories.
In June, Vodafone customers were left with intermittent reception and data issues across Australia.
New rules were handed down by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in March requiring telcos to publish when an outage started and when it was restored in detail, as well as the cause.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Telstra continues to experience service disruptions on Thursday morning following a Wednesday software defect that reset the company's GPS timing node, which synchronises the network to nanosecond accuracy. Some customers attempting emergency triple-zero calls receive error messages and are automatically routed to alternative networks; Telstra reports this secondary issue has been reduced by 90% as of 6:30am. Victoria's regional rail network remains fully suspended because Telstra's 4G signals are interfering with the trains' backup satellite phone system; New South Wales regional services have partially resumed with bus replacements running. Federal communications minister Anika Wells stated most issues have been resolved but residual problems remain, while industry minister Tim Ayres indicated a full investigation will examine the outage and determine whether penalties are warranted. Telstra conducted 300 welfare checks after triple-zero calls during the outage; six customers required assistance. The company has attributed the root cause to a software fault in its timing synchronisation system.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Telstra customers are still having trouble calling triple zero on Thursday morning as the telecommunications giant confirmed a secondary issue stemming from Wednesday’s national outage continued to impact calls.
Some who tried to call the emergency hotline were receiving an error message and their phones would try to connect to an alternative network, Telstra said.
Customers have been urged to wait for the phone to connect to another network, or use a different device to make their call.
The federal communications minister, Anika Wells, told ABC radio: “In some instances calls are going straight to message bank. In some instances, 000 calls were not going through.
“It has been largely resolved, but there are still residual problems,” she said.
In a statement early Thursday, Telstra said: “We’re deeply sorry for the impact this issue has had on so many people.”
As of 6.30am on Thursday morning, Telstra said the occurrence of the secondary triple-zero issue had been reduced by 90%.
But the minister for industry, Tim Ayres, told the ABC on Thursday that “100% is the only acceptable figure here”.
The telco’s issues have continued to wreak havoc across Australia.
All the trains on Victoria’s regional rail network were still suspended on Thursday morning, up to and including the morning peak travel period.
Telstra’s 4G network has been interfering with the back-up satellite phones used in the trains when the mobile network is unavailable, according to V/Line’s chief executive, William Tieppo.
Though services could resume before the afternoon peak, Tieppo did not commit to a time.
Regional trains in New South Wales were also interrupted Thursday morning, with buses replacing trains. Some services have resumed on the Southern Highlands and Hunter lines.
Wells said she had not yet heard of any “adverse outcomes” linked to the continuing triple-zero issues as Ayres revealed there would be a full investigation into the outages.
“Communications and digital infrastructure [are] part of the lifeblood of the economy,” he said.
“The framework is there to manage those, to make sure we’ve got a transparent investigative framework and to apply penalties where it’s necessary.”
Thousands of customers were unable to make calls or access data on Wednesday after a software defect affected Telstra’s systems, the telco said.
after newsletter promotion
The company made more than 300 welfare checks to people who attempted to dial triple zero during the episode.
Of those, 238 said they didn’t need assistance. The remainder were referred to state and territory police for welfare checks. Six customers said they needed assistance, which was provided immediately.
Telstra’s chief executive, Michael Ackland, said on Wednesday the number of calls appeared to be higher than normal.
This suggested some may have been dialling triple zero to check if it worked during the outage, which customers have been urged not to do.
The opposition communications spokesperson, Sarah Henderson, defended her decision to call triple zero during the outage.
“I accept the criticism, but what I will say is that I am in a unique position holding this government to account,” she told 2GB radio on Thursday.
“Telstra’s network is critical infrastructure, this should simply not be happening.”
The telco blamed Wednesday’s issues on a software fault that caused the “GPS node” to reset.
This server tells the rest of the organisation’s systems what the most accurate time is to the nanosecond. A software reset changed the time and synchronisation, which was then passed on to the rest of the Telstra network.
Telcos have come under increasing scrutiny in recent years following major issues at some of Australia’s biggest providers.
Two deaths were linked to an outage at Optus in September 2025, which lasted almost 14 hours and affected hundreds of calls in four states and territories.
In June, Vodafone customers were left with intermittent reception and data issues across Australia.
New rules were handed down by the Australian Communications and Media Authority in March requiring telcos to publish when an outage started and when it was restored in detail, as well as the cause.
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
Telstra customers are experiencing continued trouble calling triple zero on Thursday morning due to a secondary issue stemming from Wednesday's national outage Some callers receive error messages and their phones attempt to connect to alternative networks As of 6:30am Thursday, Telstra reported the secondary triple-zero issue had been reduced by 90% Federal communications minister Anika Wells stated that 'it has been largely resolved, but there are still residual problems' All trains on Victoria's regional rail network remain suspended on Thursday morning Telstra's 4G network is interfering with backup satellite phones used in trains Regional train services in New South Wales were interrupted Thursday morning, with some services resuming on the Southern Highlands and Hunter lines The original outage was caused by a software defect affecting Telstra's GPS node, which reset time synchronisation across the network Industry minister Tim Ayres stated that '100% is the only acceptable figure' for service restoration The minister said communications infrastructure is 'part of the lifeblood of the economy' Opposition spokesperson Sarah Henderson defended her triple-zero call during the outage, stating 'Telstra's network is critical infrastructure, this should simply not be happening' A full investigation with potential penalties has been announced under existing critical infrastructure frameworks
Read the full story at BBC ↗ · The Guardian ↗
- Telstra's Wednesday outage caused by a software defect affecting the GPS timing node has continued into Thursday with secondary failures affecting triple-zero emergency calls and regional train services
- As of 6:30am Thursday, Telstra reported 90% reduction in triple-zero call failures; federal minister stated 100% restoration is the only acceptable outcome
- Victoria's entire regional rail network remains suspended due to Telstra's 4G network interfering with train backup satellite phones; NSW regional services partially resumed
- A full government investigation into the outage has been announced, with potential penalties for the telco under existing critical infrastructure frameworks