Australia is set to revamp its telecommunications regulations following a catastrophic failure by Optus, the nation’s second-largest telecom provider, which resulted in missed emergency calls linked to four fatalities. On Thursday, September 21, 2023, Optus reported a “technical failure” that caused 624 calls to fail to connect to emergency services, known in Australia as “000.” This incident has prompted government officials to take swift action to ensure accountability and prevent similar occurrences in the future.
Communications Minister Anika Wells announced that the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the industry regulator, will investigate the circumstances surrounding the call failures. “Optus and all telecommunications providers have obligations under Australian law to ensure emergency service calls go through,” Wells stated. “We are considering our response, but there will be consequences for Telstra and the broader telecommunications sector. Optus will be held accountable for this failure.”
The tragic outcomes of the missed calls affected individuals in multiple locations, including the Northern Territory and the states of Western Australia, South Australia, and New South Wales. In Perth, a 74-year-old man and a 49-year-old man lost their lives, while a 68-year-old woman and an eight-week-old boy died in Adelaide. South Australia Police indicated that the outage was “unlikely to have contributed” to the boy’s death, as his grandmother managed to call an ambulance using a different phone after her Optus connection failed.
Stephen Rue, chief executive of Optus and part of Singapore government-owned telecom company Singtel, expressed his remorse over the incident. “I want to reiterate how sorry I am about the very sad loss of the lives of four people who could not reach emergency services in their time of need,” Rue said in a statement. He acknowledged that early investigations suggest established processes were not followed during the emergency call handling.
The fallout from this incident is significant. Optus has faced penalties for failing to meet emergency call regulations before. In November 2023, the company was fined over AUD 12 million (approximately USD 8 million) for a previous network outage. Similarly, Telstra, Australia’s largest telecom provider, was fined AUD 3 million (around USD 2 million) in December 2022 for similar compliance failures during a disruption at its emergency call center.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has indicated that he expects Optus to take serious measures in response to the crisis, potentially including a change in leadership. “There will be a thorough investigation of this. Quite clearly, Optus’ behavior is completely unacceptable. We have made that very clear,” Albanese said during an appearance on Australian Broadcasting Corp. from New York City, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly.
As Australia grapples with the implications of this failure, the government’s plans for a comprehensive overhaul of its telecommunications system will likely focus on enhancing the reliability of emergency services. The tragic loss of lives has underscored the critical importance of ensuring that every emergency call is connected, highlighting the need for robust systems and accountability within the telecommunications sector.