SYDNEY — Singtel’s Australian subsidiary, Optus, is under scrutiny following a catastrophic outage that disrupted emergency calls and reportedly contributed to multiple fatalities. The incident has prompted a government investigation, heightening concerns over the company’s operational integrity.
The recent crisis follows a nationwide network failure that occurred in November 2023, which affected millions and led to a hefty fine of A$12 million (approximately S$10.2 million) and the resignation of then-CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin. This series of setbacks now puts current CEO Stephen Rue’s leadership at risk.
Communications Minister Anika Wells expressed her dismay at the situation, noting in a press conference that crucial network upgrades should not have compromised emergency response capabilities. Wells indicated potential regulatory and legislative changes might arise from the ongoing investigation, emphasizing that emergency services must be reliably accessible.
Optus, which generates roughly half of Singtel’s annual revenue, has faced a wave of backlash. The company’s shares fell by 2 percent, trading at $4.32 as of midday on September 22, with a significant volume of trade occurring amidst the unfolding crisis.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticized Optus’s actions, calling its handling of the situation “completely unacceptable.” During an interview, he indicated that he wouldn’t be surprised if Rue were considering resigning, citing the company’s failure to uphold its obligations to customers.
According to Optus, the service disruption on September 18 was triggered by a standard network upgrade that negatively impacted emergency calls across several regions, including South Australia and the Northern Territory. The failure, which reportedly led to three deaths, was compounded by the company not receiving alerts indicating that emergency calls were not connecting.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced an investigation into whether Optus violated regulations surrounding emergency call compliance. The authority stressed that it is fundamental for telecommunications providers to ensure the public can access emergency services without hindrance.
In response to the fallout, Rue announced that Optus will appoint an independent expert to conduct a comprehensive review of the recent events, pledging to publicly share the findings. He noted that this review will assess the effectiveness of changes that had been previously implemented after the 2023 outage.
To strengthen safeguards, Optus has committed to monitoring emergency call volumes and failure rates continuously while pausing any system updates. Rue revealed that multiple calls raised concerns about emergency service accessibility on the day of the outage, indicating a failure in internal communication regarding the severity of the issue.
Rue acknowledged the company’s shortcomings, stating that a compulsory escalation process will be established to handle customer reports of service outages effectively. The determined efforts aim to restore public trust in Optus’s reliability during critical times.