TPG – the parent company of Vodafone – has said a Lebara customer who tried to dial triple zero on an incompatible Samsung device could not make the call and subsequently died.
TPG said in a statement to the ASX that it was informed of the incident – which took place on 13 November in Sydney – at 5.22pm yesterday after advice from NSW Ambulance.
The company was not experiencing a network outage, it said, but early investigations suggest the customer was using a Samsung device with software that was not compatible with making triple-zero calls on the TPG network.
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TPG, Optus and Telstra sent out advisories about some older devices late in October. Under the rules, customers who do not update their handsets after a period of 28-35 days will be blocked from the network.
The customer was on a Lebara service, a company that resells mobile services on the Vodafone network.
“Customer safety remains our highest priority,” the TPG chief executive, Iñaki Berroeta, said.
“This is a tragic incident and thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones. 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“We urge all customers with outdated software to replace or update their devices without delay to ensure they can reach triple zero in an emergency.”
NSW Ambulance confirmed late on Tuesday that it had been subsequently contacted via an alternate phone connection after the initial attempted call and responded immediately.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the patient,” the spokesperson said.
“NSW Ambulance continues to review its response and has referred the incident to the telecommunications provider.”
The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, said the federal government needed to demand that every telco that had a customer with an affected handset was aware, and that the customer was moved on to a new device before the devices were cut off the network.
“But this is too late. This is absolutely too late. We’re standing here today talking about another death,” she told reporters. “This is a person in Australia who has family members, loved ones, people who care about them, people who would be impacted forever because they could not make that phone call when it was needed to be made in their most dire time of need.”
It is estimated about 50,000 of these older Samsung devices will be blocked from being able to connect to mobile networks, after Telstra and Optus last month advised the older devices were not able to connect to Vodafone’s network in the event both of their networks are unavailable and a user needs to call triple zero.
Under the triple-zero rules, devices that in some circumstances cannot connect to triple zero need to be cut off from mobile networks. The telcos have been advising customers if they need to upgrade their devices, but the full notice period required before the devices must be cut off has not yet elapsed.
The device models are:
Galaxy A7 (2017)
Galaxy A5 2017
Galaxy J1 2016
Galaxy J3 2016
Galaxy J5 2017
Galaxy Note 5
Galaxy S6
Galaxy S6 Edge
Galaxy S6 Edge+
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7 Edge
Newer Samsung devices may need a software update in order to continue operating. Samsung has provided a list of those devices on its website.
The device manufacturer told Guardian Australia last month it was working with the carriers on the issue.
It follows a number of deaths during an Optus triple zero outage in September. The Optus independent investigation into the incident is due before the end of 2025. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has also launched an investigation.
– Additional reporting by Penry Buckley
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