Telstra's 'priority' service fails former diplomat, preventing emergency calls
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
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- Telstra's priority assistance service for life-threatening medical conditions has failed former diplomat Alastair Gaisford multiple times, preventing him from calling emergency services.
- Gaisford's landline has gone down 15 times since December 2023, with some outages lasting long enough to prevent Triple Zero calls, a critical issue given his wife and son's severe asthma.
- Telstra stated it works with priority customers and that the service is for fixed landlines, while also noting that over a third of its 140,000 priority customers use a big button phone for extra support.
Former diplomat Alastair Gaisford has accused Telstra of failing to provide a reliable service for its "Priority Assistance for Life-Threatening Medical Conditions" landline, despite assurances that his family's healthcare was a priority. Gaisford, who lives in an area with mobile black spots, reported 15 landline outages since December 2023, some of which he claims prevented calls to the emergency Triple Zero (000) number.
Were they to have an attack at home, and if they were at home on their own, and the priority assist landline wasn't working, and they weren't able to call an ambulance, they would probably die.
His concern is acute because his wife and son suffer from life-threatening asthma. "Were they to have an attack at home, and if they were at home on their own, and the priority assist landline wasn't working, and they weren't able to call an ambulance, they would probably die," Gaisford stated, emphasizing the critical nature of the service.
Telstra acknowledged working with Gaisford to address his concerns. A spokesperson said the company provides a priority fault repair and connection service for high-risk individuals, applicable only to fixed landlines. The Australian Communications Industry Forum code mandates high service reliability for these customers, including the ability to call Triple Zero.
We have worked extensively with Mr Gaisford over a number of years to try to address his concerns and improve his service experience.
Telstra also noted that 140,000 customers are enrolled in the Priority Assistance program. Of these, over a third utilize a big button phone, which includes a 4G SIM and battery backup, ensuring calls to emergency services can be made even during power outages. Gaisford, however, reported being unable to call Triple Zero for a total of 150 days intermittently since December 2023.
When our priority assist landline fails, as it has 15 times, we will be unable to call for an ambulance because our mobile phones don't work.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
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