TPG Telecom has confirmed that a customer in Sydney died last week after their Samsung mobile phone failed to connect to Triple Zero (000) emergency services. The telco stated that early investigations indicate the failed calls were due to the device operating on outdated software incompatible with making emergency calls on its network.
In a statement released on Wednesday, TPG Telecom said it was informed of the incident by NSW Ambulance on November 13. The company noted that its mobile network was operational and no outages had occurred. Samsung acknowledged on its website that older devices may not correctly connect to an alternative mobile network for Triple Zero calls when the primary network is unavailable.
TPG Telecom said it had previously notified customers with affected devices to urgently update their software. Under new regulations, handsets not updated are blocked after 28 to 35 days from the first contact. The most recent communications were sent on November 7. NSW Ambulance confirmed it received contact from the person via an alternate phone connection after the failed Triple Zero attempt, and paramedics responded immediately.
Samsung expressed condolences and urged customers to keep devices updated. The company lists dozens of devices requiring updates or replacements to ensure Triple Zero connectivity. This incident follows a September outage on the Optus network that led to three deaths, and recent Telstra testing revealing over 70 Samsung models with connectivity issues.
TPG Telecom CEO Inaki Berroeta called the incident tragic and urged users of affected devices to update or replace them without delay. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will investigate whether TPG complied with emergency call rules. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the situation would be rigorously assessed.
