Australian Telcos Drive Improvements in Emergency Calling and Disaster Preparedness

Australian telcos have delivered a range of measures to improve the reliability of Triple Zero and to ensure Australians are better informed about emergency calling, according to industry peak body the Australian Telecommunications Alliance (ATA). 

“Australian telcos have not been waiting for the Senate report on Triple Zero outages to improve the reliability of networks and the integrity of Triple Zero,” said ATA CEO Luke Coleman. “Over the past twelve months, telcos have worked collaboratively on a range of measures to strengthen Triple Zero and better educate customers about what to do during outages.” 

“Australian telcos, technology vendors, and device makers are leading the world to address gaps in global technology specifications to improve emergency call reliability, not just in Australia but around the world.” 

“We have also worked with the University of Technology Sydney’s National Telecoms Resilience Centre to test mobile phones and networks in a range of outage scenarios, working closely with mobile device manufacturers to improve the reliability of Triple Zero calls.” 

“Mobile network operators are also prepared to activate Temporary Disaster Roaming (TDR) ahead of the high-risk weather season. TDR will allow customers to temporarily use an alternative mobile network, where available, if their usual network is hit by an outage – allowing Australians to make calls, send and receive text messages, and access websites and apps until services are restored.” 

“And in recent weeks, millions of Australians of have been provided with clear and simple advice on how to get through to Triple Zero during a network disruption – a campaign developed in consultation with the Government’s Triple Zero Custodian and shared on triplezero.gov.au.” 

Actions undertaken by telcos to strengthen Triple Zero reliability: 

• led the development of new international technical specifications designed to improve emergency call completion during network outages, 

• collaborated with global device manufacturers and technology vendors to improve the reliability of emergency calling, 

• conducted extensive testing of mobile devices and networks with the UTS National Telecoms Resilience Centre,  

• enabled Temporary Disaster Roaming, allowing customers to access an alternative mobile network (where available) during natural disasters, 

• delivered a national consumer awareness campaign to help Australians understand how to access Triple Zero during network disruptions. 

Leading the world on new specifications for emergency calling 

The Australian telecommunications industry is driving a global campaign to maximise the reliability of emergency calling. Working with the ATA, mobile network operators Telstra, Optus, and TPG Telecom have collaborated with mobile device makers and technology vendors to improve global technical specifications, with the objective of making emergency calls as reliable as possible. 

The group has submitted a proposal the world governing body responsible for global mobile specifications, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The submission is expected to lead to improvements in the speed and success rate of mobile emergency call completion in situations when the customer’s usual mobile network is unavailable. 

Industry action on network and device testing  

Australia’s mobile network operators, technology vendors and mobile device makers have worked with the UTS National Telecoms Resilience Centre over the past year to test emergency calling in a range of outage scenarios.  

This testing led to improvements in the reliability of emergency calling across a range of handsets via software updates, and enabled the industry to propose improvements to global specifications for mobile devices. 

Industry leadership on Temporary Disaster Roaming 

Australia’s mobile network operators are also working together to help keep Australians safe, informed and connected during times of natural disaster. 

Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom are ready to activate Temporary Disaster Roaming (TDR), which will allow customers to temporarily switch to an alternative mobile network, where available, if their usual mobile service has been disrupted to due to severe weather, bushfires or floods. 

Where it is available, it will allow Australians to make essential calls, send and receive text messages and access basic data to view websites and apps. 

The three telcos have developed the technical solution, completed rigorous testing and regional field trials, and drafted interim activation protocols that can be used in a crisis. These interim TDR arrangements are now in a technical state of readiness to activate in the event of a natural disaster. 

TDR will be automatic – Australians will not need to change any of their phone’s settings. 

National consumer information campaign 

Australia’s three mobile network operators and the ATA, in consultation with the Triple Zero Custodian, launched a public information campaign to help ensure Australians can reliably connect to Triple Zero (000) when needed. 

This simple advice was shared with millions of Australians over recent weeks via text messages, emails, app alerts, social media, company websites, on the triplezero.gov.au website, and via front line customer service staff.