A Senate inquiry in Australia has recommended that the country's Triple Zero (000) system be nationalized following several high-profile failures of the system.

Such a move could remove Telstra as the custodian of the Triple Zero network, Australia's main emergency service phone number.

Calls for a change of direction come after a turbulent few years for the system, which connects Australians with their emergency service providers during times of crisis.

In total, 11 recommendations have been put forward by the Senate Environment and Communications Reference Committee, including the modernization of the legislation that covers the Triple Zero system and reliability and performance framework standards to be met by carriers connecting to the system.

The Senate also wants a more comprehensive review into how welfare checks are carried out across the telecommunications system and assess the adequacy of these arrangements.

But one of the most significant recommendations is the Senate's call for a statutory authority to oversee the network.

"The committee recommends that the Australian Government consider establishing a statutory authority to assume responsibility for the Emergency Call Person (ECP) function," said the Senate.

Telstra operates and maintains the Triple Zero service in Australia, meaning the carrier is contracted to be the ECP for the 000 and 112 emergency numbers, akin to 911 in the US or 999 in the UK.

This is a role the telco has held since 1961, according to its website. The company estimates that its team answers around 11.7 million calls to Triple Zero each year, or roughly 32,000 calls a day.

When someone dials the 000 number, it goes through to a Telstra emergency call operator, who will confirm the nature of the emergency service required and, in some instances, the location of the emergency, and then connects the caller to the required service.

The carrier operates three national emergency call centers located in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide to deal with the calls.

However, pressure has been put on Telstra in the wake of several high-profile Triple Zero network outages.

Last September, a network outage on Optus' network led to issues with the service after a technical failure impacted Triple Zero calls. During this outage, four people died, and more than 600 customers were impacted.

A year earlier, Optus was slapped with an AU$12 million ($7.93m) fine for an outage in 2023. The outage, which happened on November 8, 2023, lasted more than 14 hours.

Indeed, other telcos in Australia, including Telstra and TPG Telecom, have had outages that have impacted connectivity to the Triple Zero service.

The end of self-regulation?

One of the key points made in the Senate's inquiry was its perceived view that Australia's mobile carriers aren't being regulated adequately.

“Australian telcos are now on notice,” said Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who chaired the inquiry. “This is the end of the era of self-regulation.”

"Triple Zero is an essential service. It is often a matter of life or death for people. We can no longer allow it to be left to private companies," Hanson-Young added.

It's not just Hanson-Young that has formed this view, with Carol Bennett, CEO, Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN), agreeing that tougher regulations are required.

ACCAN put out a statement this week stating that it agrees with the Senate's recommendations, which include that Telstra is replaced by a statutory authority.

"If Australians are to be safe, have access to the essential services they need from telcos, and be able to rely on a Triple Zero emergency system, we need a courageous approach that embraces the recommendations of this report and implements them in full,” said Bennett.

"Mobile networks are the only essential service in Australia not legislated and regulated in the way it should be, including being subject to reliability and performance requirements, and this needs to change as a matter of urgency."