Australian mobile operator TPG Telecom said that a customer died after they were unable to make a Triple Zero call over the carrier's mobile network.

The incident happened on November 13, said TPG, which noted the Sydney-based user was using a Lebara service on a Samsung device when they couldn't connect to Triple Zero.

Triple Zero (000) is Australia's main emergency service phone number, akin to 911 in the US or 999 in the UK.

According to TPG, at the time of the incident its Triple Zero service was operational with no outages.

The company said that its early investigations have determined that the failed calls were due to the customer’s Samsung device operating on software that was not compatible with making Triple Zero calls on the network.

TPG confirmed that it found out about the incident on November 17 at 5:22 pm after being notified by NSW Ambulance.

“Customer safety remains our highest priority. This is a tragic incident, and our condolences and thoughts are with the individual’s family and loved ones. Access to emergency services is critical. We urge all customers with outdated software to replace or update their devices without delay to ensure they can reach Triple Zero in an emergency," said Inaki Berroeta, managing director and CEO, TPG Telecom.

TPG added that Samsung recently identified that "certain, older devices required a software update to enable Triple Zero functionality on TPG Telecom’s mobile network."

The company said once it became aware of these handsets on its network, it communicated with customers to urgently update affected devices.

"Handsets not updated are blocked after a period of 28- 35 days from the first contact to the customer, as required under new regulations. The most recent communications to customers with impacted devices were sent on November 7. These updates are critical to ensure compatibility with emergency services and to protect customer safety," said the telco.

The carrier added that it has notified the Minister for Communications, the NSW Government, ACMA, Triple Zero Custodian, and other relevant government and regulatory bodies of this incident.

It comes at a time when Australia's Triple Zero service is in the public spotlight, amid several Optus outages that have impacted the service.

During one such outage in September, four people died and more than 600 customers were impacted.

Last year, the carrier 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. Optus is currently under investigation for the recent outages.

DCD sends its sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased.