Optus CEO says cause of triple-zero outage remains unknown as deaths investigated

Optus chief executive Stephen Rue said Saturday that the telco still does not know why triple-zero emergency calls failed during a 13-hour outage tied to a firewall upgrade, even as authorities confirm three deaths connected to the disruption and a potential fourth case in Western Australia.

The outage occurred during a network upgrade that began around 12:30 a.m. Thursday and affected emergency calls in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Rue said initial testing at the start of the upgrade showed no issues and that regular calls continued to connect, but there were two complaints to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman about triple-zero calls not going through. The first complaint was logged about 9 a.m. Thursday but did not trigger an escalation, and Optus did not learn of the problem until a customer contacted the company at about 1:30 p.m., roughly 13 hours after the outage began. Rue also acknowledged that there were “no alarms to alert us” that some emergency calls were failing.

The deaths linked to the outage include a 74-year-old man in Western Australia and a 68-year-old woman and an eight-week-old baby in South Australia. Western Australian Premier Roger Cook said at a press conference that a fourth person might have died as a result of the outage, pending confirmation after welfare checks. In Canberra, Optus faced questions about the incident, while the government signaled it would cooperate with investigations and review the company’s handling of communications surrounding the outage.

Rue told reporters he would reach out to affected families at “the right time” but did not acknowledge direct contact at this stage. He reiterated that an external investigation would provide a fuller picture of how events unfolded and stressed a commitment to transparency as facts emerge. When asked whether Australians could still trust Optus, he said he would remain transparent and noted that results from the external review will illuminate what happened and why.

Government officials underscored the severity of the incident and the need for accountability. Minister for Communications Anika Wells said she was staggered by the triple-zero outage and acknowledged that multiple recommendations from a 2023 review, which the government accepted, had yet to be fully implemented. Wells cited failures to alert the public and to notify emergency services authorities as particularly troubling.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas criticized Optus for its handling of the situation, saying he hadn’t seen “incompetence” at this scale from an Australian corporation in respect to communications. He added that Optus should have informed state authorities before issuing a public statement about the fatalities. Western Australian leaders urged rapid, thorough inquiries to determine how a single outage could result in multiple fatalities and stressed the importance of restoring public trust in the company’s ability to support critical services.

The incident, described by officials as the largest mobile network outage in Australia’s history, has put a spotlight on telecom resilience and the ongoing tension between customer service obligations and corporate crisis management. While Optus has emphasized ongoing investigations and a commitment to cooperating with authorities, regulators and lawmakers are expected to scrutinize whether more robust monitoring, alerting, and emergency-response protocols should be mandated for carriers.

As investigations proceed, policymakers noted that the public’s reliance on mobile networks for safety and urgent needs makes outages of this scale a significant societal concern. The industry will likely face renewed calls for stronger safeguards, contingency planning, and clearer communications with both emergency responders and the public during future upgrades. In the meantime, families affected by the tragedy await answers, while Optus seeks to restore confidence after a milestone outage that touched lives across multiple states.