Triple zero down: Emergency number affected

Telstra has tweeted that the restoration of the cable in NSW has been completed.

‘E000 services are returning to normal. We're working with emergency services and our government and enterprise customers to manage any residual issues. We're deeply sorry for the interruptions.’

Press conference

“We’re here to reassure the public despite some problems we’re experiencing with the triage of 000 calls," The police told the media.

“The public still need to call 000, that service is still operating. However the reliability of the service is a concern. We have activated our normal emergency services redundancy arrangements. If people can’t get through on 000, people are advised to get through on 131 444 and those calls will be triaged to the normal emergency services. I can assure the public that the normal emergency services will occur. There is no loss of service in relation to the response by police, ambulance and fire.” 

The police said the technical elements of what occurred this morning remain unresolved. 

“We’re obviously seeking advice from the telecommunications advisers, but I don’t want to step into that field that we’re not the experts on. What I can reassure you of that there’s been no loss of service. The redundancy arrangements remain in place. If people do have difficulty they can call that number (131 444) or the police station number should be known and are readily available on the internet. They can make the call straight to the police,” the police said in the conference this morning.

“This is an example of a contingency. We have moved to our other arrangements, that is the Police Assistance Line. The Police have been able to make sure we have enough staff to dispatch and divert calls for all emergencies. 

“We don’t have any numbers (on the calls that haven’t gone through.) Early in the morning it’s not as much as a problem for us.

“The problem is not resolved.

“Our communications centre became aware around 2am, we started to work through with the providers from about 4, 4.30am we started that messaging with that contingency number.”

Ambulance have stepped up to answer questions.

“Ambulance has been monitor and assess the situation, to our knowledge there has been no adverse affect due to the outage,” they said.

The police have addressed the media, watch in the video below.

EARLIER

Assistant Deputy Commissioner Mark Walton addressed the public in relation to the 000 outage at 9.50am.

“I just want to reassure the public that the 000 line, if they’re having problems getting through they can call the police assistance line on 131 444 where normal emergency services police, fire and ambulance will be dispatched to deal with their issue,” he said.

Telstra says from their official Twitter account that a fibre repair crew is on site at cable pit east of Orange where the outage is believe to have originated. 

The site has significant fire damage Telstra says is consistent with a lightning strike.

Telstra says they’re we're working to restore services as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, perturbed customers are taking to Twitter to express their frustration at the issues the outage has caused with some eftpos services rendered non-functional.

NSW Police have been made aware of an intermittent Telstra Network issue affecting the receipt of Triple Zero (‘000’) phone calls.

If requiring assistance from any of the emergency services, members of the public are urged to contact Triple Zero (‘000’) in the first instance.

News networks have reported Telstra said the cable was cut by an unknown party between Orange and Bowral around 2am, which sparked the outage. 

The outage is affecting calls in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia. 

If unable to get through on Triple Zero, callers requiring any of the emergency services should call Police Assistance Line on 131 444.

As always, please call for genuine emergencies only.

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