Three people have died after being unable to connect to 000 because of an Optus network upgrade failure.
Optus CEO Stephen Rue fronted the media in a hastily called press conference and confirmed a technical failure prevented around 600 customers in South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia from connecting to emergency services.
Rue says the technical failure during the network upgrade didn’t affect regular calls.
Optus has conducted welfare checks on people affected and says it will fully co-operate with government agencies and regulatory body investigators.
“This should not have happened,” Rue said.
“We are doing a thorough investigation.
“Once the facts are established, we will make them public.”
Two of the deaths were in South Australia and one was in Western Australia.
Optus says the network upgrade issue has been rectified and the network is now operating normally.
“I want to offer a sincere apology to all customers who could not connect to emergency services when they needed them most,” Mr Rue said.
“And I offer my most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the people who passed away.
“I am so sorry for your loss.
“What has happened is completely unacceptable. We have let you down.
“You have my assurance that we are conducting a thorough investigation and once concluded we will share the facts of the incident publicly.”
This isn’t the first time Optus customers have been disconnected from 000.
The telco was fined $12m by the Australian Communications and Media Authority after a 14-hour full network outage in November 2023 when 2,145 people were unable to call emergency services.
At that time Optus failed to conduct welfare checks on 369 people who were unable to connect through 000.
The investigation is continuing.
