Singtel’s Australian mobile brand, Optus, is facing a fresh round of criticism after two recent glitches on the country’s 000 emergency call network. Customers who dialed the emergency number in late July and again in early August were unable to reach police, fire or ambulance services, causing widespread panic and frustration.
Former editor and financial journalist Ven Sreenivasan said the incidents highlight a growing problem in the Telco’s network reliability. “When Australians need help, the last thing they should experience is a call that won’t connect,” he said. “Optus has a duty to deliver a reliable emergency signal.”
Optus confirmed the first outage began when a key fiber cable was damaged in a storm, cutting off traffic to 000 servers. Engineers worked around the clock to restore the line, but the delay left many callers scrambling for help. The second blow came when software issues disrupted the routing system, again interrupting 000 calls for several hours.
Regulators in Australia have opened investigations into the failures. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) wants a full audit of Optus’s emergency‑call handling and stricter safeguards to prevent similar breakdowns. The telecom watchdog is also looking into whether the company has informed its customers adequately.
Optus has pledged to tighten its emergency‑call procedures and to test its network more rigorously. Chief Operating Officer Mark Wesley said the company is “working hard to rebuild trust” and that “improvements are already underway.”
For consumers, the situation stresses the importance of knowing what to do if a call to 000 goes unanswered. Experts advise keeping a paper copy of emergency numbers and dialing a local police station if you can’t reach the national line.
The two disruptions have sparked a national debate about telecom reliability in an era when digital connectivity is lifesaving. Optus’s response will likely set a benchmark for how Australian telcos handle emergency service failures in the future.
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