Optus Faces Backlash Following 13-Hour Outage Impacting Emergency Services

Australian telecom giant Optus is facing intense scrutiny and potential regulatory consequences after a 13-hour network outage left large parts of the country unable to access emergency services. The incident, which occurred during a network upgrade last Thursday, has been linked to three confirmed deaths while authorities investigate a possible fourth. The failure caused over 600 emergency calls to go unanswered, affecting regions such as South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory, as well as parts of New South Wales.

Regulatory Response and Criticism

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma) has launched a formal investigation into the outage, citing delays in Optus’s response and failure to meet standard reporting rules. The company reportedly did not notify regulators until after the issue was resolved, raising serious concerns about operational oversight. Communications Minister Anika Wells called the outage an “enormous failure on the Australian people,” while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggested Optus CEO Stephen Rue should consider resigning due to the severity of the incident.

Optus CEO Responds

Stephen Rue, CEO of Optus, attributed the outage to a firewall upgrade causing a technical fault. Rue expressed his condolences for the lives lost and vowed to implement measures to prevent such incidents in the future. However, the company’s delayed response—spanning 13 hours after customers began reporting service disruptions—has intensified public criticism. Rue admitted this failure, stating, “That is clearly not good enough,” and committed to addressing shortcomings in Optus’s crisis management protocols.

Optus’s Troubling History

This is not the first time that Optus has faced backlash over emergency service disruptions. In 2023, the company was fined over A$12 million after thousands of Australians were unable to make emergency calls during another outage. Additionally, in 2022, a cyberattack compromised the personal data of approximately 9.5 million users, further damaging the company’s reputation. The recurrence of such crises has raised questions regarding Optus’s infrastructure reliability and its commitment to customer safety.

Impacts on Public Perception and Industry Standards

The latest incident has significantly impacted Optus’s parent company, Singapore Telecommunications, as its stock price fell by 2.3%—the sharpest decline in two months. Meanwhile, industry watchdogs and government officials are calling for stricter measures to ensure telecom providers adhere to safeguards, particularly in maintaining access to essential services like triple-0 emergency calls. As investigations continue, the spotlight remains on Optus’s crisis management capabilities and its obligations to public safety.