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Optus CEO Stephen Rue said the failure happened on Thursday during a planned upgrade, potentially affecting around 600 customers across the country
Following welfare checks in the affected areas, three people were found dead in their homes. (AP file photo)
Three people in Australia have died after a network upgrade by Optus, the country’s second-largest telecom provider, disrupted access to emergency services.
Optus CEO Stephen Rue said the failure happened on Thursday during a planned upgrade, potentially affecting around 600 customers across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. As a result, some were unable to connect to triple zero (000) emergency services.
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Following welfare checks in the affected areas, three people were found dead in their homes. Rue told reporters on Friday that investigations were ongoing and more cases could still be uncovered.
“I want to offer a sincere apology to all customers who could not connect to emergency services when they needed them most,” Rue said.
“I offer my 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,” he added.
When asked how long the outage lasted, Rue said the details were still being investigated.
Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, confirmed the fault had been fixed. A full investigation is underway, and the findings will be made public once completed.
This is not the first time the company has faced backlash over service disruptions. In 2023, Optus was fined A$12 million for a nationwide outage that affected emergency call access for thousands. In 2022, a cyberattack compromised the data of around 9.5 million Australians.
Rue, who took over as CEO in November 2024, said the company would also look into why emergency calls during this latest outage were not redirected to other networks.
When questioned about whether this incident reflected poorly on his leadership, Rue responded, “Today is not about me, this is about the people who lost their lives.”
Optus could now face fresh penalties, with possible fines exceeding $10 million.
(With inputs from agencies)
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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
Australia
September 19, 2025, 17:24 IST
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