• Australian telco Optus is in the spotlight after a second emergency services outage in a matter of weeks
• It has appointed consulting firm Kearney to provide an external assessment of the operator’s mobile network operations
• Optus owner Singtel, for the time being, continues to give the Optus CEO its support

Following its second emergency services outage in a matter of weeks and a subsequent meeting with a government minister, Australian operator Optus has appointed consulting firm Kearney to provide an assessment and oversight of its mobile network operations. 

As previously reported, in mid-September Optus suffered a network outage that impacted Triple Zero (emergency services) calls across South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, and which was linked to four deaths. At the time, the Optus board commissioned Dr Kerry Schott to lead an independent review into the technical failure, which occurred during a firewall upgrade. 

Singtel, the Singapore telco that is the parent company of Optus, issued a remorseful statement that pledged its support for the investigation into the incident and also for the Optus management team headed up by CEO Stephen Rue. “We are working with the Optus board and management to ensure a thorough investigation of this incident to prevent any future recurrence,” Singtel noted at the time.

Unfortunately, there was a recurrence this past weekend, albeit on a smaller scale (one site covering 4,500 people) and without any subsequent loss of life: Optus has been providing updates about the outage, noting that the cell tower issues were rectified within a day.  

Singtel noted that the latest outage, involving a mobile phone tower in a New South Wales (NSW) suburb, “is totally unrelated to last week's Triple Zero incident. It is a different type of outage which was limited to one cell site out of 3,140 in NSW. Optus took the matter very seriously and took action to restore the site. It has confirmed that one person who required emergency services was impacted, but this person was able to call emergency services from another phone successfully. Given the heightened sensitivity in Australia around Triple Zero calls, Optus communicated this incident to demonstrate full transparency of a type of outage that carriers around the world routinely encounter. This incident did not arise from any upgrade or maintenance action being conducted.” 

On Monday 29 September, Optus CEO Rue, the telco’s chairman John Arthur and Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon met with Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells, following which the Optus board appointed Kearney “to provide additional oversight of our mobile network,” noted Arthur in this statement. Kearney “will begin immediate oversight, quality assurance and verification as Optus uplifts its mobile network management, processes and services consistent with required standards.” 

Arthur pledged that Optus will “cooperate fully and transparently with the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s investigation into this issue,” and reaffirmed the network operator’s commitment to “restoring the Australian community’s confidence in the Optus mobile network and our responsibility within the national Triple Zero ecosystem.”

He added: “The board’s highest priority is ensuring that Australians can rely on Triple Zero when it matters most, and we would once again like to apologise to all those impacted by the 18 September outage.”

As before, Optus CEO Rue, who has been in the job for less than a year, has not been forced to fall on his sword following the most recent incident. Chairman Arthur noted that the Optus board, which includes Singtel’s Yuen Kuan Moon, “is confident that Optus CEO Stephen Rue and the management team, supported by the best external expertise, will undertake the critical reforms to continue to transform the business, and strengthen the Optus mobile network, restoring the confidence and trust of the Australian public.”

Rue, who was previously the CEO of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN), took on the Optus CEO role in November 2024 after the previous head honcho, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, quit following an investigation into a catastrophic network outage that left 40% of Australia’s population without mobile services.  

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV