Early this morning a Telstra cable was damaged, which has resulted in intermittent outages to the triple 0 emergency number across NSW, Victoria And Western Australia Queensland has also reported some issues on the Sunshine Coast, but that it was not widespread. This has resulted in service interruptions to the police, ambulance and fire brigade.
Telstra has also recently made an update announcement
Just before 6am this morning, Telstra reported on Twitter that the outage was due to “a cable cut by an unknown part between Orange & Bowral in NSW at 2:05am today.” However, the telco later reported that the issue was caused by a lightening strike near Orange.
Update: @Telstra fibre repair crew on site at cable pit east of Orange. Significant fire damage consistent with lightning strike. We’re working to restore services ASAP and are sorry for service interruptions. Current impact mostly in NSW & some interruptions in VIC, SA & WA. pic.twitter.com/alyCfNIKpZ
— Telstra News (@Telstra_news) May 3, 2018
Telstra also said at 5:49am on Twitter that, “Routers impacted by the cable cut were restored about 4:50am today and services progressively returned to normal. A @Telstra fibre repair crew has been dispatched.” However, issue are still being reported on social media.
VicRoads has also reported that the disruption is impacting several hundred traffic lights in Victoria.
People are being advised to call 131 444 if they are experiencing an emergency and can’t get through to 000 at the present time.
Update:
Telstra issued this tweet before midday today:
Update: 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.
— Telstra News (@Telstra_news) May 4, 2018
Services should already operating normally, or at least will be very soon.
Here are the most recent updates from each state:
New South Wales
A reminder to everyone needing emergency services to call Triple Zero (000) FIRST but if you can’t get through call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 for ALL emergencies in NSW.
— NSW Police (@nswpolice) May 4, 2018
Victoria
Vic triple zero is operating as normal. There are still some issues with interstate generated calls. Victorians can be confident to call triple zero in an emergency. @EMV_news @AmbulanceVic @VictoriaPolice @MFB_NEWS @vicsesnews @CFA_Updates @vicemergency
— ESTA000 (@ESTA000) May 4, 2018
Western Australia
Emergency calls to the Western Australian police are reportedly going through, but there have been some reports of issues in calling St Johns Ambulance from earlier today. Anyone who needs to contact SJA can call to the police, who will direct ambulances to the emergency.
Although the WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services had issues earlier this morning, calls are now reportedly going through.
Queensland
Please be advised that if its an emergency, ALWAYS call Triple Zero (000). We are aware of issues in other parts of the country, but QPS are still receiving 000 calls.
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) May 3, 2018
ACT
The ACT is currently receiving emergency calls without issue.
South Australia
South Australia is currently receiving emergency calls without issue.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is currently receiving emergency calls without issue.
Tasmania
Tasmania is currently receiving emergency calls without issue.
We have reached out to Telstra for comment and will update this story if we receive a response
This story is developing…