Inquiry into Triple Zero Service Outages

ACCAN recently submitted to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee’s Inquiry into Triple Zero service outages. Australians believe that access to mobile telecommunications is critical for participation in daily life.  

However, the mobile telecommunications infrastructure that underpins the delivery of telecommunications services, including Triple Zero (000) is not regulated as an essential service. When access to telecommunications services, especially Triple Zero (000) is disrupted, public safety is threatened, and significant consumer harm can occur as a result.  

ACCAN’s submission aims to improve the reliability, inclusivity and availability of the mobile telecommunications services which underpin the delivery Triple Zero (000) call services.  

ACCAN’s submission recommends the Australian Government:  

• Implement wholesale and retail mobile network infrastructure performance standards to improve consumers’ access to emergency services. 

• Strengthen the governance and skills of the Australian Communications and Media Authority by promoting Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe and Commissioner Anna Brakey to full ACMA members to ensure their participation in all Authority matters and leverage their regulatory skills and expertise more fully.  

• Support a technology-neutral approach to accessing emergency services, including a broad review of how consumers access 000 including through video relay-to-000, text-to-000 and real time text-to-000. 

• Expand Triple Zero (000) capabilities to cope with future demand associated with the achievement of government policy objectives such as the implementation of the Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation.  

• Undertake an expansive review into the functionality, objectives and sustainability of the Triple Zero (000) service. 

• Empower the Triple Zero Custodian to have end-to-end oversight of the Triple Zero system and require improvements from service providers and industry.  

• Provide a progress update of the actions towards the recommendations of the Review into the Optus Network Outage of November 8, 2023 to provide transparency concerning the outstanding recommendations of the Review.  

• Revisit the case for domestic mobile roaming noting the public safety implications of telecommunications outages in regional, rural and remote areas and the current and future competitive settings of the mobile telecommunications market.