On 8 July 2026, a major Telstra network outage disrupted mobile calls and data services across Australia. A business communication backup plan can help keep essential services running when a major telecommunications outage occurs.
For many businesses, the outage was more than an inconvenience. It affected phone calls, internet access, electronic payments, transport services and other systems that depended on mobile connectivity. Some Triple Zero calls were also unable to connect. The outage was traced to a software-related fault involving network time-synchronisation equipment, rather than a cyberattack.
While the technical cause was unusual, the broader lesson is simple:
Businesses need a plan for what happens when an essential communication service suddenly becomes unavailable.
One provider can become a single point of failure
Many businesses rely on one telecommunications provider for several services. That provider might supply the office internet connection, employee mobile phones, mobile data, backup internet and connected payment devices. Under normal conditions, keeping these services together can appear convenient. During a major provider outage, however, several backup options may stop working at the same time.
For example, an office may have an internet connection with mobile failover. But if both services depend on the same underlying carrier, the backup connection may be affected by the same outage. It is a backup on paper—but not necessarily in practice.
Identify your business-critical communications
Every business uses technology differently, so the most important systems will vary. For one organisation, the priority may be answering customer phone calls. For another, it may be processing EFTPOS payments, accessing cloud-based software or communicating with delivery drivers.
Start by identifying which services your business cannot operate without.
These may include:
- Office internet
- Mobile calls and text messages
- EFTPOS and online payment systems
- Cloud-based business applications
- Microsoft Teams or other communication platforms
- Remote access for employees
- Security cameras and alarm systems
- Communication with field or delivery teams
Once these systems are identified, you can consider how the business would continue if one or more became unavailable.
Use genuinely independent backup options
A backup service should not rely on exactly the same infrastructure as the primary service.
Depending on the business, this could mean using:
- A secondary internet connection from another carrier
- Mobile services across more than one network
- A separate mobile hotspot for emergency access
- Cloud-based phone systems that can redirect calls
- Offline payment procedures
- Alternative communication platforms
- Locally stored copies of essential contact information
This does not mean every employee needs multiple phones and internet connections. It means your most important functions should have a realistic alternative.
A useful question is: if our primary provider went offline right now, would our backup still work?
Create a clear staff communication plan
Technology is only one part of business continuity. Staff also need to know what to do. During an outage, employees may not know whether the problem is limited to their device, the office or the wider network. This can lead to duplicated support requests, confusion and inconsistent instructions.
A basic outage procedure should explain:
- Who confirms that an outage is occurring
- How staff will receive updates
- Which backup systems should be used
- Who communicates with customers
- Where important phone numbers are stored
- Which business functions should be prioritised
- When staff should move to an alternative work location
Keep a copy of the procedure somewhere that remains accessible when your normal systems are unavailable.
A continuity plan stored only in the cloud may be difficult to access during an internet outage.
Test the plan before you need it
A backup plan should not be based on assumptions. Test whether the secondary internet connection activates correctly. Confirm that calls can be redirected. Check that employees know how to connect to an alternative network. Make sure important contact details are current. Testing may uncover simple but important problems. Perhaps the backup service uses the same network as the primary service. The mobile hotspot may no longer be charged. The login details might be unavailable. Staff may not know who is responsible for activating the plan. These are much easier to correct during a scheduled test than during a national outage.
Resilience does not require perfection
No business can prepare for every possible disruption. The goal is not to build a completely failure-proof technology environment. That would be unrealistic and potentially very expensive. The goal is to understand your most important dependencies and reduce the chance that one failure brings everything to a stop.
The Telstra outage demonstrated how quickly a telecommunications issue can spread into payments, transport, customer service and everyday business operations. Five hours may not sound like a long time. During a busy workday, it is more than enough time to miss calls, delay jobs, lose sales and frustrate customers.
A simple, tested communication backup plan can make those five hours far more manageable.