SYDNEY: The Australian government declared that telecommunications firm Optus had failed its citizens after three fatalities occurred during a major network outage.
This disruption prevented emergency service calls across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory for over ten hours on Thursday evening.
Approximately 600 people were affected by the service failure, with authorities remaining unaware of the incident and resulting deaths until late Friday.
Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that Optus had let Australians down in their most critical moments, calling the situation unacceptable.
She emphasised that all telecommunications providers have legal obligations to ensure emergency calls can always be made.
Minister Wells further criticised Optus for apparently lacking sufficient understanding about the failure’s cause and alarm system malfunction 24 hours post-outage.
The communications watchdog has now launched a formal investigation into the incident.
South Australian Police confirmed that an eight-week-old boy and a 68-year-old woman were among those whose deaths were linked to the outage.
Local media reports identified Western Australia as the location of the third fatality.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas condemned Optus for what he described as reprehensible conduct and unprecedented corporate incompetence.
Optus chief executive Stephen Rue acknowledged the incident as completely unacceptable while offering his sincere apologies to affected customers.
He extended heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who died during the service disruption.
The telecommunications company now faces potential fines and other legal penalties for this failure.
Optus had previously been fined 12 million Australian dollars following a similar 12-hour mobile and internet outage in 2023. – AFP