Telecommunications company TPG has confirmed a person in Sydney died on Saturday after a customer on their network was unable to make Triple Zero calls due to outdated technology.
In a statement to the market and on its website, TPG Telecom said one of their customers in Sydney, using a Lebara service on a Samsung device, was unable to contact emergency services on November 13.
That person “tragically lost their life”, TPG said in a statement.
TPG has confirmed a person died after a customer was unable to contact triple zero. (Supplied)
“TPG Telecom offers its sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of that person at this difficult time,” the company said.
TPG said it had been informed of the incident at 5.22pm yesterday, following advice from NSW Ambulance.
“At the time of the attempted contact to the Triple Zero service, the TPG Telecom mobile network was operational and no outages were occurring,” the statement read.
“Early investigations indicate that the failed calls were due to the customer’s Samsung device operating on software that was not compatible with making Triple Zero calls on the network.”
TPG said Samsung had recently identified that certain older devices needed a software update to contact triple zero on TPG’s mobile network.
The company said it had communicated with customers to “urgently” update the affected devices, most recently on November 7.
TPG said some older Samsung devices needed updates to contact triple zero. (iStock)
Handsets not updated are blocked after a period of 28-35 days from the first contact to the customer, as required under new regulations.
“This is a tragic incident, and our condolences and thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones,” TPG Telecom chief executive Inaki Berroeta said.
“Access to emergency services is critical. We urge all customers with outdated software to replace or update their devices without delay to ensure they can reach Triple Zero in an emergency.”
TPG Telecom said it had notified the Minster for Communications, the NSW government, ACMA, Triple Zero Custodian, and other relevant government and regulatory bodies of this incident.
9news.com.au has contacted Samsung for comment.
