000-Emergency Service back Online

In welcome news, NIRC and NI Telecom advise that the 000-emergency service is back online and is fully functional.

Engineers from Blue Arcus, the primary telecommunications contractor for Norfolk Island Telecom, tackled the problems with technical advice from Redcom Laboratories, whose Softswitch technology is a central component of the telecommunications network, including the 000 system.

Of the three problems identified, two created the main issues that caused difficulties in connecting a caller to the emergency service they required. One of these was the Dual-tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) feature, which provides a touch tone for making a selection (for example, pressing 1 for ambulance).

The other was the “comfort noise” feature, the purpose of which is to give callers reassurance that their call is still connected when there is no active dialogue. This feature was overriding voice audibility, impacting the ability to the caller connect to an emergency service via Softswitch.

Engineers installed a firmware upgrade of the Redcom Softswitch, which fixed the issue with digits not registering. The original Redcom switch will be sent back to the supplier to have the noise issue repaired and then returned to Norfolk Telecom for a working spare unit.

Norfolk Telecom does not expect further issues with the emergency calling service, following these fixes. However, in the unlikely event that anyone experiences further issues with the 000 service, they should immediately report this to Customer Care. Norfolk Telecom will continue to regularly check the system.

NIRC and Norfolk Telecom thank the community and visitors once again for their patience and understanding, whilst these critical fixes have been made.