Telstra hit with national 4G call outage

Telstra has fixed a nationwide network outage that knocked out 4G voice calls and voice calls over NBN some users. 

Customers began complaining of the outage on Tuesday afternoon, saying they were unable to make or receive calls. The telco advised customers through social media and its network outages page that an issue was affecting some 4G voice calls, and advising affected users to switch to 3G to make calls. 

NSW Police also warned Telstra users that the outage could affect emergency calls.

Less than 90 minutes after first acknowledging the problem on Twitter, the telco announced the problem had been fixed, though did not explain what caused the outage. 

"We are sorry that some customers were unable to make or receive calls as this was occurring," said a Telstra spokesperson. "The issue was caused by technical changes made ahead of upgrades to mobile traffic control equipment in Telstra's Exhibition Street exchange in Melbourne.

"The issue was progressively resolved by reversing the changes. The issue became known about 1 p.m. and was resolved about 3 p.m."

It's not great timing for the telco, which announced a splashy new deal offering unlimited mobile data just hours before the outage began. 

Telstra customers were quick to take to social media to vent their frustration. 

While the problem appeared widespread, it was a long way from the "embarrassing" outages Telstra has experienced in the past. In 2016, the telco blamed "human error" for an outage that knocked out data and calls across Australia, with Telstra offering free data days to make it up to consumers and later investing AU$250 million to shore up its network.

First published May 1, 4:11 p.m. AEST.

Update, 4:40 p.m.: Adds comment from Telstra and updates story after the outage was fixed.

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