Optus, Australia's second-largest telecom carrier, apologized for a 76-minute network outage that disrupted emergency service calls across three states and the Northern Territory. The incident follows a similar outage last year that was linked to two deaths and resulted in a A$12 million fine for the company.
Reliable emergency communication is critical, and repeated outages by Optus raise concerns about the company's network resilience and its ability to safeguard essential services, potentially impacting public safety and leading to further regulatory scrutiny and financial penalties.
Optus, Australia's second-largest telecommunications provider, issued an apology on Saturday following a 76-minute network outage that occurred on Friday. The technical glitch impacted voice calling services across parts of Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory, causing some customers to experience intermittent call dropouts and disrupting emergency services calls.
In response to the incident, senior minister Chris Bowen described the outage as "deeply concerning" and stated that necessary investigations have begun, emphasizing the obligation of telecommunications companies to maintain their emergency call technology. Police in Victoria reported completing approximately 40 welfare checks on callers affected by the outage, noting no adverse outcomes.
This latest disruption follows a significant network issue in 2023 that left hundreds unable to contact emergency services and was linked to two deaths. In 2024, Optus was fined A$12 million by regulators for its failure to provide emergency call services during that 2023 outage. The company also experienced a cyberattack in 2022 that compromised the data of around 9.5 million Australians.