Communications Minister's Office Left in Dark Over Fatal Triple-Zero Call Failure for 10 Weeks After Wrongful Assurance Given to Anika Wells' Office, Inquiry Hears.
The Australian communications regulator and the government were operating under a false assumption that there had been no death linked to a failure of the triple-zero network after being told so by Telstra, in a shocking revelation during an explosive parliamentary inquiry into the issue.
Minister Anika Wells was not informed about the development until weeks later when it emerged that her office had been wrongly told no one had died following the September incident. The inquiry's evidence showed that TPG contacted the minister's department on October 20 and raised concerns about Samsung device problems, while Telstra's executives claimed they were unaware of a death until just hours before the hearing.
The communications minister's office was kept in the dark for over 10 weeks after being assured by Telstra that there had been no fatalities following the September incident. The government was operating under this assumption after Telstra initially told them on October 20 that there was no fatality associated with the incident, despite TPG knowing of a death.
In another bizarre twist, Telstra's chief executive Iñaki Berroeta admitted he did not know how his company had reached its incorrect conclusion. Meanwhile, the Greens communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young labelled this as a 'cover-up', while the communications regulator made an emergency call for Samsung devices to be upgraded and rectified.
The latest development is linked to two deaths that have been revealed to be caused by triple-zero outages in Australia.
The Australian communications regulator and the government were operating under a false assumption that there had been no death linked to a failure of the triple-zero network after being told so by Telstra, in a shocking revelation during an explosive parliamentary inquiry into the issue.
Minister Anika Wells was not informed about the development until weeks later when it emerged that her office had been wrongly told no one had died following the September incident. The inquiry's evidence showed that TPG contacted the minister's department on October 20 and raised concerns about Samsung device problems, while Telstra's executives claimed they were unaware of a death until just hours before the hearing.
The communications minister's office was kept in the dark for over 10 weeks after being assured by Telstra that there had been no fatalities following the September incident. The government was operating under this assumption after Telstra initially told them on October 20 that there was no fatality associated with the incident, despite TPG knowing of a death.
In another bizarre twist, Telstra's chief executive Iñaki Berroeta admitted he did not know how his company had reached its incorrect conclusion. Meanwhile, the Greens communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young labelled this as a 'cover-up', while the communications regulator made an emergency call for Samsung devices to be upgraded and rectified.
The latest development is linked to two deaths that have been revealed to be caused by triple-zero outages in Australia.
I mean, come on! The fact that Telstra kept the Minister's office in the dark for 10 whole weeks is just mind-boggling. They were basically operating under a false narrative, and it's not like they were trying to hide something sinister. It's more like they got caught up in their own bubble of ignorance 
. I don't get why TPG didn't speak up sooner, though - if they knew about the death, shouldn't they've blown the whistle? 
The fact that Telstra's CEO doesn't even know how they made that mistake is just... 
. It's all so botched. And now we're left with two more deaths to account for - poor Anika Wells and her office were in the dark for months over this 
.
. The fact that the Minister's office was kept in the dark for 10 weeks, thinking there were no fatalities after a fatal triple-zero call failure... it's just mind-boggling! The government is supposed to be on top of things, but clearly, they weren't paying attention here. And Telstra's CEO not knowing how his company got its numbers wrong? 
That's some pretty serious negligence right there.
. But this whole ordeal just goes to show that even with all the technology in place, human error can still cause huge problems. It's a good reminder for all of us to double-check our info and make sure we're not spreading misinformation 
.
. We need to get to the bottom of this!
Can you believe how long it took for Telstra to come clean about the fatal triple-zero call failure? 10 whole weeks of keeping the gov's office in the dark after being assured there were no fatalities 
. This is just shocking and it shows a complete breakdown in communication between companies and authorities. The fact that TPG knew about a death but didn't tell anyone for weeks is even more disturbing 
. And what's with Telstra's CEO not knowing how his company reached its incorrect conclusion? 
. And the fact that TPG was telling them there was a death but Telstra didn't know about it until hours before the inquiry... that's some serious miscommunication 
. We need better communication (no pun intended 
) between our telco providers so this kind of mistake doesn't happen again.
I'm literally shocked, man... like, what's going on with Telstra? First of all, they were told there was no death, so the gov just goes along with it? And then we find out 10 weeks later that there actually was a death?! That's crazy! 
. And now Samsung's devices are getting an emergency upgrade - seems like a bit of a band-aid solution for me 
. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for keeping people safe, but this whole ordeal smells fishy to me 
. Can't help but wonder how many more things have been swept under the rug 
...
. i mean, it's not just about the 10 weeks they were misinformed, it's also about how many more people might have been affected or even lost their lives because of that delay 
.
.
. Samsung needs to get their act together, pronto 
. I mean, I know they've got a lot of customers who rely on those devices, but come on 
. This whole thing needs to be thoroughly investigated ASAP 
.
. I'm all about accountability here. The communications regulator needs to do some serious work to ensure this kind of thing never happens again 
. At least Samsung is taking steps to upgrade and fix their devices, but what about Telstra? Shouldn't they be held accountable for their mistakes too? This whole situation just feels so... frustrating 
. and poor anika wells, she must be feeling like a total idiot for being told there was no one who died 