Former Diplomat Has Trouble with Telstra's Priority Service

Topic: Telecommunications Services

Friday, July 17, 2026, at 5:05 am

Alastair Gaisford lives near Parliament House, but his area has mobile black spots.

In short:

Alastair Gaisford is a Telstra Priority Assistance customer, but he has had trouble calling Triple Zero for 150 days.

Telstra says Mr. Gaisford had only two faults on his landline in two years, and both were fixed within 24 hours.

What's next?

Telstra will talk to a Senate inquiry about its recent outage today.

Telstra promised to prioritize Alastair Gaisford's wife's healthcare.

But Mr. Gaisford says he has had 15 landline outages, which is a big problem.

Telstra's recent outage stopped over 600 calls to Triple Zero and caused problems for businesses and transport.

Mr. Gaisford's property is near Parliament House, but it has mobile black spots.

Alastair Gaisford is a former diplomat who now breeds donkeys near Canberra.

Mr. Gaisford's wife and son have life-threatening asthma, so they need a reliable phone service.

If they have an attack and can't call an ambulance, they could die.

This is a big concern for Mr. Gaisford.

Telstra's priority assistance policy is for people who may have emergencies and need a reliable phone service.

Telstra says Mr. Gaisford had only two faults on his landline in two years, and both were fixed quickly.

During those times, Telstra offered Mr. Gaisford a satellite phone, but he didn't want it.

The Australian Communications Industry Forum has rules for priority customers, including being able to call Triple Zero.

Mr. Gaisford says he couldn't call Triple Zero for 150 days because of problems with his phone service.

Alastair Gaisford says he has had trouble calling Triple Zero for 150 days.

When Mr. Gaisford's landline doesn't work, he can't call an ambulance because his mobile phone doesn't work either.

Telstra says 140,000 customers have priority assistance for life-threatening medical conditions.

Some of these customers have a special phone that can call for help even during a power outage.

Mr. Gaisford's property is near the border of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Last year, Mr. Gaisford told a Senate inquiry about his problems with Telstra's priority assistance service.

The inquiry made recommendations to Optus after a big outage was linked to two deaths.

Do you know more about this story? Email us.

A survey found that one in ten consumers couldn't call Triple Zero from their mobile phone due to an outage.

'We wouldn't be able to call an ambulance'

If Mr. Gaisford's landline doesn't work, he has to drive to find a mobile phone signal to call for help.

Mr. Gaisford says it's not easy to call an ambulance if he or his family needs help.

Alastair Gaisford has sent Telstra over 100 emails about the problems with his phone service.

Mr. Gaisford bought another mobile phone with Optus so he could make calls at his property.

Telstra sent Mr. Gaisford a mobile signal booster and a Starlink aerial, but they haven't been installed.

Telstra also sent a big button phone, but it doesn't work without a reliable signal.

Alastair Gaisford waited 50 days for his priority assistance landline to be fixed after the first outage.

Telstra told Mr. Gaisford that it couldn't install the Starlink aerial due to problems with his roof.

Telstra said it wouldn't pay for an external contractor to install the aerial.

If Mr. Gaisford uses a non-registered contractor, he might lose his priority assistance status.

Telstra says it won't take away Mr. Gaisford's priority assistance status.

These problems have been going on for over a year.

After the first outage, Mr. Gaisford waited 50 days for repairs, which is longer than the allowed 24 hours.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has been contacted about Mr. Gaisford's problems.

Alastair Gaisford has to walk down his driveway to find a mobile phone signal.

Friday, July 17, 2026, at 5:05 am

Friday, July 17, 2026, at 12:12 pm

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