A network outage at Optus prevented over 600 emergency calls from connecting for 13 hours on 18/9, primarily affecting South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. However, Australian media reported that the telecommunications giant did not inform the public about the incident until 40 hours later.
Optus also violated protocol by not notifying the regulatory body, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), until after the issue was resolved.
In a press conference on the afternoon of 19/9, Optus CEO Stephen Rue stated that the outage was caused by a technical error during a network upgrade. A safety check conducted after service restoration revealed three deaths directly linked to the outage: two 49-year-olds in Perth, Western Australia, and a 68-year-old woman in Adelaide, South Australia.
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An Optus store in Sydney, Australia, November 2023. Photo: *Reuters* |
According to Rue, the company was unaware of the problem for 13 hours. Many customers attempted to report the disruption, but their complaints were not escalated or handled "as expected," he said.
"I am deeply sorry for the loss of life, for those who couldn't access emergency services when they needed them," Rue said on 21/9, pledging to prevent similar incidents. He apologized to the public and the families of the deceased for this "unacceptable incident."
An ACMA spokesperson expressed the agency's "grave concern" about the situation and Optus's handling of it. "Australians must be able to contact emergency services whenever they need help. This is the most basic responsibility of any telecommunications provider to the public," the spokesperson said.
Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said on 22/9 that authorities were investigating the incident and affirmed that Optus "will be held accountable for this failure." She stated that telecommunications providers have "no excuse" for people being unable to call emergency services.
Owned by Singapore Telecommunications, Optus is Australia's second-largest telecommunications provider. In 2023, Optus failed to provide emergency call access to 2,145 people during a service disruption and did not check on 369 of those affected. The company was subsequently fined over 8 million USD. Optus also suffered a cyberattack in 2022, compromising the data of approximately 9.5 million Australians. Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigned after these prior incidents, and Rue took over in November 2024. The Australian Prime Minister suggested Rue should consider resigning after this latest incident.
Huyen Le (*BBC, Reuters*)
