Telstra’s mobile network has suffered a major, nationwide outage, leaving potentially millions of Australians unable to make phone calls or access the internet.
The outage is also affecting payment systems and public transport across the country, with regional rail lines in NSW and Victoria and the ACT’s MyWay+ ticketing system among those services affected.
Hundreds of traffic lights in South Australia are also affected, operating on basic programming rather than responding to traffic conditions.
The outage appears to have started early on Wednesday morning, with outage monitoring site Downdetector.com showing a large spike in reports beginning about 5am AEST.
Downdetector.com shows a huge spike in Telstra outage reports shortly before 6am. (Supplied: Downdetector.com)
Users of other mobile providers that operate on Telstra’s network, including Boost, Aldi, Tangerine, Belong and Everyday Mobile, are also reporting outages.
However, the outage does not appear to be affecting all the telco’s customers, with some reporting on social media that they are still able to make calls, access the internet, or both.
Calls to Triple Zero (000) should be unaffected by the outage, with calls being rerouted to use other providers’ mobile networks, and emergency services in Victoria and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman have said this is the case.
However, police in Western Australia have posted a statement on Facebook saying the outage appears to have affected some Triple Zero calls, advising people with “a vulnerable family member, friend, neighbour or co-worker” to “consider offering support during the service disruption”.
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A Telstra spokesperson told the ABC the company was “investigating an issue affecting some mobile calls and data connections as a matter of priority”.
“If you’re having trouble connecting, try again as it may work on a retry,” the spokesperson said.
“Fixed internet services like NBN are not affected.
“We’re on it and will share an update as soon as it’s fixed. Thanks for sticking with us.”
Trains between Newcastle Interchange and Maitland on the Hunter Line have stopped running due to the outage, with replacement buses on the way.
The Southern Highlands line between Campbelltown and Moss Vale/Goulburn is also affected.
In Victoria, all regional train services have been suspended by service operator V/Line, including the Bendigo, Seymour, Gippsland, Geelong and Ballarat lines.
Josh Meadows was set to commute from Castlemaine to Melbourne this morning when, after his train arrived at the station, he heard an announcement that it couldn’t proceed due to a “Telstra radio network fault”.
“I sat on the train for half an hour (it was nice and warm inside the train!) then … decided I’ll have to work from home,” he said.
V/Line says it is “assessing the situation and will advise when trains will resume”, adding that there is “no estimated time for rectification at this stage”.
Canberra’s public transport authorities say they are investigating a “likely” connection between the outage and issues with its MyWay+ ticketing system, though bus and light rail services are running on time so far.
Queensland Rail has experienced no issues at this stage.
Luke Lewis tells News Breakfast he was unable to pay for his taxi this morning. (ABC News)
NSW Blues legend and ABC broadcaster Luke Lewis was also affected by the outage, telling ABC News Breakfast he was unable to pay for his taxi on the way to Sydney Airport.
“It’s been a little bit crazy. Even on the way here, the taxis today, their internet’s not working,” he told Catherine Murphy.
“I had to give [the taxi driver] my number, I said … just send it to me, and I’ll fix it up later.”
ATMs in Sydney Airport also appear to have been affected, frustrating passengers unable to access cash while their mobile payments are down.
Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain said Telstra had advised the federal government of the outage, which was affecting “a large number of mobile calls and connections”.
“We understand Telstra is working on resolving the issue, and arrangements are being made for affected rail passengers,” she said.
“Like all telcos, Telstra must notify customers and emergency services of any major outage.”
Telstra operates Australia’s largest mobile network, providing about 24.9 million retail mobile services as of June last year.
The company was fined more than $3 million in 2024 for a network outage that prevented customers from calling Triple Zero.
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