The government will begin to implement a set of reforms and rules to improve the emergency call service including a real-time network information during outages and forming a new body in charge to monitor the Triple Zero system, as part of its official response to the review into last year’s Optus outage, which affected millions of consumers, businesses, and emergency services.
These are two recommendations outlined by the government’s report which was released today.
Triple Zero is Australia’s main emergency service number and should be accessible at all times. But for a few hours at the height of the outage, thousands of people were not able to get through.
Earlier this year in January, two months after the outage, Optus disclosed at least 2,697 calls to Triple Zero failed to connect.
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In March, Telstra’s outage also caused some Triple Zero call transfers to fail.
According to the review as reported by the ABC, it found that Optus’ communications around the outage was “so inadequate that it called for a complete overhaul in what telcos are required to tell emergency services and authorities if the situation happens again.”
Communications minister Michelle Rowland said the sector will be subjected to “new rules mandating how, what, and when telecommunications carriers communicate with their customers during and after a major outage.”
The government suggested 18 recommendations on how to make the system more “robust and reliable.” It will implement the recommendations in the next 12-18 months. Among them, as reported by the ABC, include:
– Obligate telcos to shut down their towers during outages, allowing Triple Zero calls to be carried by other networks
– Establish a “Triple Zero custodian” whose sole responsible is to make sure the system is working
– Force telcos to share real-time information about outages with emergency services organisations and authorities
– Force telcos to file a timely post-mortem on major outages to the regulator and the government — including what caused it and steps being taken to resolve it, with a clear and detailed timeline
– Review the government’s contract with Telstra to run the Triple Zero system, with any changes to be made within a year
– Introduce an industry-wide approach to responding to consumers affected by large-scale outages
– Establish an agreement between telcos requiring them to help each to manage and resolve outages
– Review all legislation and regulations relating to Triple Zero
The report added telcos are not obligated to prioritise restoring access to Triple Zero during an outage or to provide information about an outage’s impact on Triple Zero calls to others in the system or the public.
Communications minister Michelle Rowland agreed to 18 recommendations and dubbed it as the “most comprehensive examination of the Triple Zero ecosystem over a decade.”
“It means we have a workable blueprint to implement changes that will help improve the resilience of telecommunications in this country,” she said.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) said in a statement it will support the government’s recommendations, particularly improvements where it will play a role. These include:
Recommendation 2: TIO to convene the Steering Committee to determine the most appropriate body to provide oversight of Triple Zero
Recommendation 9: Improved communication and collaboration during telco outages
Recommendation 12: Updates to the Complaints Handling Standard and Record Keeping Rules
Recommendation 13: A mandated industry-wide approach to resolutions available to consumers affected by a crisis or large-scale outage.
“The TIO will work with all parties to deliver a robust Triple Zero function, enhanced telco standards and rules in line with community expectations, improved communication during a crisis, and a fairer system for consumers to seek compensation during times of mass disruption,” said Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert.