Telstra has issued an apology for a national outage that halted train services, disrupted transactions, and affected some triple-zero calls. The carrier confirmed that a secondary network glitch on Thursday continued to impede emergency calls, with some customers receiving error messages when trying to connect to the emergency hotline.
Network Issues and Customer Impact
Telstra Chief Financial Officer Michael Ackland acknowledged the ongoing issues, which also brought regional train networks to a standstill on Thursday morning. “I want to again apologise for the disruption these issues have caused to our customers and to the broader community,” he said. “Mobile networks are complex, and we will continue to work through further changes to ensure we have the most robust solution, but customers can feel confident in calling triple zero.”
Since the outage began on Wednesday, Telstra has completed 639 welfare checks. No assistance was required for 230 callers who responded by text, while 402 needed follow-up calls, including 170 cases passed to police for further assessment. Seven callers reported needing assistance, and their details were referred to emergency services, Ackland said.
Technical Cause and Response
Telstra attributed Wednesday's issues to a software fault that caused the “GPS node” to reset. This server provides precise time synchronisation to the network, and the reset disrupted timing and synchronisation. Thursday's problem was a consequence of the same defect but required a different fix, Ackland explained. The company urged customers to immediately redial triple zero if their first call failed, noting “good success” on second attempts.
“It is unacceptable what has happened, and our focus is on how we have addressed it through our processes,” Ackland said. “Customers can trust the triple zero system, it’s a very robust system. No system is completely immune from impacts and outage.”
Transport Disruptions and Business Impact
The outage wreaked havoc on commuters. All trains on Victoria’s regional rail network were suspended on Thursday morning during peak travel, though services gradually resumed. According to V/Line Chief Executive William Tieppo, Telstra’s 4G network interfered with backup satellite phones used when the mobile network is unavailable. Regional trains in New South Wales were also interrupted, but services resumed on the Southern Highlands and Hunter lines.
On Wednesday, businesses reported being unable to process customer payments due to interruptions to Eftpos terminals. Carol Bennett, Chief Executive of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network, told Sky News the outage caused huge disruptions. “There certainly needs to be some kind of recourse to compensate customers and businesses who’ve lost a lot when it comes to these outages,” she said.
Government and Political Reaction
Communications Minister Anika Wells said she had not yet heard of any “adverse outcomes” linked to the triple-zero issues. Industry Minister Tim Ayres announced a full investigation. “We’ve got a transparent investigative framework and to apply penalties where it’s necessary,” he said. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor accused the government of trying to “spin their way out” of the outage furore and defended his initial response linking the issues to a Chinese missile test. Ackland confirmed the outage was not the result of a cyber incident.
Two deaths were linked to an Optus outage in September 2025 that lasted almost 14 hours. In June, Vodafone customers experienced intermittent reception and data issues. New rules from the Australian Communications and Media Authority in March require telcos to publish outage start and restoration times and causes.
