By Islam El-Sakka
Telstra has apologized after thousands of customers reported receiving phantom missed call and voicemail notifications, some delayed by days. The Australian telecommunications giant acknowledged an issue with its MessageBank service on Wednesday, stating the problem had been resolved the previous night.
MessageBank Glitch Causes Confusion
A Telstra spokesperson said the company identified the issue on Tuesday and fixed it that night. Customers experienced a sudden influx of delayed missed call and voicemail notifications, some dating back several days. The spokesperson emphasized there was no impact on emergency Triple Zero calls, voice calls, or mobile data.
Customer Complaints Flood Social Media
More than 3,000 comments appeared on Telstra’s Facebook page from confused users. One customer reported receiving a missed call from her own phone while it was locked in a car cupholder. Another said his phone indicated his father had called while they were sitting together. A user noted the glitch led her boss to believe she had called him after hours.
Previous Nationwide Outage
Telstra operates 26 million mobile services on its network. In July, a major nationwide outage attributed to a software defect affected millions, disrupted train services, and prevented shops from using Eftpos machines. Chief Executive Vicki Brady said at the time the company would take steps to prevent a recurrence.
