Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady has deflected questions over whether senior managers should have their bonuses cut after returning from leave to confront the fallout from this week’s nationwide network outage.
Ms Brady said Telstra had found no evidence that earlier job cuts contributed to the failure, which disrupted mobile services for millions of Australians, affected public transport networks and prevented small businesses from processing payments.
She also said the telco had found no evidence linking the outage to the death of an elderly woman in South Australia, an assertion later backed up by the State’s police commissioner.
Ms Brady said Telstra’s mobile network, including triple-0 connectivity, had been fully restored and repeatedly apologised for the disruption, which began about 4.30am on Wednesday and continued into Thursday.
“There is no indication that any restructuring of jobs has impacted on this particular issue, she said. “As I said, we will complete the investigation and any of those lessons out of that. We will be very transparent and are committed to implementing changes that might be needed.”
Ms Brady added that the company allocates significant amounts of money into network security and suggested the fault was down to faulty data centre equipment, rather than human error, or a lack of investment.
The telco boss also sidestepped questions about whether senior management should face pay cuts for an outage that damaged thousands of small businesses.
“We again have very clear processes and governance when it comes to bonuses and remuneration,” she said.
“That process will happen, and it will be overseen by our board.”
Ms Brady said she spoke to both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Anika Wells on Friday morning to update them on the telco’s investigations into the outage.
Telstra rejects link to South Australian death
Chief financial officer Michael Ackland also said Telstra had found no call records indicating that a South Australian household’s triple-0 call failed to connect because of the outage.
“We’ve conducted a detailed review of our network records using the information provided to us, as well as a number of services associated with the same (caller’s) address,” said Mr Ackland.
“To date, we can see no record of calls from those numbers accessing Telstra’s mobile network to call triple-0, and more broadly, no record of any calls from those numbers to the triple zero class.”
South Australian police said the cause and circumstances of the woman’s death were not fully known and would be investigated.
The outage prevented more than 604 people from contacting emergency services across Wednesday and Thursday. Of those cases, 170 were referred to police for in-person welfare checks.
On Friday afternoon Minister Wells confirmed the government’s position that triple-0 services had been fully restored.
“Telstra has now provided formal notice to the triple-0 custodian that their outage has been resolved,” Ms Wells said. “And on the progress of welfare checks, I can advise the triple-0 custodian has advised me that all remaining welfare checks that Telstra needed to refer to state emergency services.”
Ms Wells also said there was no evidence that the South Australian death was related to a failed emergency call during the outage.
“Telstra has held special trust from Australians. It has been respected as the premium service. It is an iconic company. It has a rich history. But that trust really stands in peril today,” Ms Wells said.
The government has requested the Australian Communications and Media Authority conduct an independent investigation into the outage and report back within a reasonable timeframe.
Ms Wells also said she expected Telstra to notify her sooner of the outage, than the approximate two-and-a-half hours it took.
Nothing to suggest Telstra was warned about vulnerabilities
Ms Brady, who became chief executive in 2022, also rejected suggestions the company ignored earlier warnings about vulnerabilities in its network’s timing systems before this week’s nationwide outage.
An ABC news report suggested a University Professor named Allison Kealy had warned Telstra of the vulnerabilities while seeking support for a proposed critical infrastructure research centre.
Telstra shares traded down 2.8 per cent to $4.84 on Friday afternoon and have lost 4 per cent since last closing at $5.07 prior to the outage.
Analysts are divided on the medium-term future of Australia’s largest mobile and internet services business.
Some warn Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite business could eventually offer cheaper internet connectivity in Australia. While others are more positive, as the telco boasts an average price target of $5.24 according to the consensus of 14 analysts.
Research from consultancy Primara suggests an estimated 33,450 calls are made to police, ambulance and fire emergency services over every 24-hour period, equal to one call every 2.6 seconds.
An estimated 78 per cent of all triple-0 calls are made from a mobile phone and Telstra operates the country’s largest network.
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails