A significant outage at Optus has resulted in the deaths of three individuals, prompting widespread outrage and concern. The incident, which occurred two days ago, caused the failure of approximately 600 emergency calls across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. Optus announced the outage during a media conference on Friday, attributing it to a technical fault that arose during a network upgrade.

Authorities and customers are expressing frustration, especially since Optus faced criticism for a similar outage two years ago. The recent incident has left many questioning the reliability of the telecommunications provider. Two fatalities were reported in South Australia, and one in Western Australia, all linked to the failure of emergency services.

Details surrounding the outage remain limited. It is unclear why only triple-zero calls were affected and why emergency backup systems did not activate. Mark Stewart, a lecturer at the University of Adelaide and former consultant for Telstra, identified two potential failure points. "Its root cause was in a network upgrade, and a secondary failure in the emergency 'camp-on' capability that should have allowed people to use an alternative service provider," he explained. Stewart noted a global trend where companies under-resource testing and disaster recovery planning during network upgrades.

Emergency services and state governments were reportedly unaware of the outage and its consequences until the media conference. The Western Australia ambulance service stated it had not received any briefings from Optus regarding the outage. WA Premier Roger Cook mentioned he was informed of the situation only shortly before the press conference. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas criticized Optus for not notifying the state government about the deaths prior to the announcement. "I have not witnessed such incompetence from an Australian corporation in respect to communications worse than this," he said.

South Australia Police also stated they were not aware of the details surrounding the deaths linked to the outage. When asked about the timing of the announcement and the delay in disclosing the fatalities, Optus CEO Stephen Rue provided little clarity. He stated the company was focused on "establishing the facts" and conducting welfare checks throughout the day.

This incident follows a nationwide outage in November 2023, which disrupted thousands of emergency calls and resulted in Optus facing $12 million in penalties. A formal review of that incident made 18 recommendations to prevent future occurrences, six of which have yet to be fully implemented. Rue acknowledged the community's frustration, stating, "This should not have happened, we are doing a thorough investigation, I can assure you."

Optus may face fines exceeding $10 million and could be liable for additional legal penalties due to the recent outage. However, Rue did not comment on potential repercussions for the company or compensation for those affected.

Graeme Hughes, a business and retail expert at Griffith University, emphasized the need for further regulation in the telecommunications sector. He called for a transparent government inquiry into the industry’s infrastructure and emergency protocols. "We need to understand what has gone wrong here and a course of action so this never happens again," Hughes stated. He noted that similar promises were made by Optus following the previous outage, raising concerns about the company's commitment to improving its services.