Optus Faces Fresh Emergency Call Outage After Sydney Network Failure

Australian telecommunications company Optus has reported another major outage, just ten days after a widespread disruption that may have contributed to four deaths. The latest incident occurred on Sunday morning in Dapto, about 100 kilometers south of Sydney, when a faulty mobile tower cut off services, including emergency calls, for roughly 4,500 residents. The company confirmed the issue was resolved and that all individuals who attempted to contact emergency services were safe.

This new failure has intensified scrutiny of Optus, Australia’s second-largest telco, owned by Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel). The Australian government is demanding accountability, with Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon scheduled to meet Communications Minister Anika Wells this week. He will be joined by Optus Chairman John Arthur and CEO Stephen Rue. Singtel stated it will fully cooperate with the government to address the crisis.

The backlash follows the September 18 outage, a 13-hour disruption triggered by a network firewall upgrade. The breakdown cut off emergency call services across two states and the Northern Territory, impacting around 600 customers, including people in remote areas. Authorities believe the outage likely delayed emergency aid, contributing to four fatalities.

Public frustration has been mounting, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling the repeated failures “completely unacceptable.” Optus CEO Stephen Rue admitted that the initial disruption was likely due to human error and that standard procedures were not followed. To restore public trust, Optus has initiated an independent review, expected to conclude by the end of the year.

As Optus struggles with repeated outages, the company faces rising political pressure, a tarnished reputation, and growing concerns from customers over the reliability of Australia’s critical telecommunications infrastructure.