XT breakdown hits emergency calls

Ron Ching has got out of his contract early and is now with Vodafone. Photo / Simon Baker

The Government wants assurances from Telecom that its XT customers will have uninterrupted access to emergency services after a man was unable to call police for help.

The latest outage to face the troubled XT network took a disturbing turn yesterday when it was revealed that people trying to call 111 were also being affected.

The Government says it may now also have to consider new regulations.

Prime Minister John Key said it was a serious situation given Telecom's large customer base.

"And that customer base has been let down badly on four separate occasions now. Our concerns are where it might impact on the safety and security of New Zealanders."

Christchurch man Ron Ching said he was getting a takeaway meal about 6.30pm on Monday when he witnessed a young Asian student being assaulted by a group of skinheads in front of a busy shopping mall.

When Mr Ching tried to use his cellphone to call 111 and *555 via the XT network, it would not connect. Other people were around, but "most people didn't want to know".

Yet some other onlookers did use their cellphones on different networks to call for help. It made Mr Ching wonder what could have happened if he had been by himself in an emergency and needed help.

"You might think it's an extreme case scenario, but I never thought I would be in that situation I was in [on Monday night] either."

Telecom chief executive Dr Paul Reynolds said Mr Ching's situation was very unfortunate.

"Every XT mobile phone has the capability to flick on SOS mode, when there is no XT service, over to an alternative network. Vodafone for example," he said.

"But in the instance where there is service - in this case [on Monday night] there was data and text service - it would not flick over automatically and I guess ... that's what happened to that gentleman."

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce said yesterday he was waiting to be convinced that Telecom could ensure an uninterrupted connection to emergency services.

Telecom is required by law to provide emergency calling on its fixed network. However, mobile phones are not covered. Mr Joyce said the Government might need to regulate to ensure that operators prioritised 111 calls in situations where networks become unstable.

"The simple reality is that Telecom needs to solve this issue and solve it quickly."

Police Communications Centre national manager, Superintendent Andy McGregor, said it was very difficult to determine how many people might have attempted to call emergency during the latest outage.

Mr McGregor suggested people in that situation try to get to the nearest landline or borrow a cellphone that operated on another network.

He said it was fortunate that multiple calls still came in about the assault on the Asian student when Mr Ching could not connect, allowing police to respond quickly.

"Christchurch police are actively investigating the alleged attack and following positive lines of inquiry."

Mr Ching sought and was given a release from his two-year cellphone contract with Telecom yesterday, and is now with Vodafone.


Emergency calling:

* When mobile networks are completely down, cellphones are programmed to roam on other available networks to make emergency calls. This is known as SOS mode.

* When networks are intermittently down, or where voice services are down but data and text services remain, this may not happen. This was the case in some areas on Monday night.

* The Government has asked officials to look into the issue and come back with a list of options.