Australia Launches Investigation into Major Telco Outage
Australia has announced that it will launch an investigation into a national outage at Optus, one of the country’s leading telecommunications companies. The 12-hour blackout affected nearly half of the population, interrupting internet and phone connections and impacting critical services such as payments, transport, and hospitals.
With more than 10 million Australians, or 40% of the population, affected by the network outage, there is growing concern about the resilience of the country’s telecommunications infrastructure. In response, the federal government will conduct a post-incident review to identify the lessons to be learned from this incident.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland described the outage’s impacts as particularly concerning and stressed the importance of understanding what went wrong. While Optus managed to restore its services over the course of the day, the government wants to ensure that proper measures are in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.
In addition to the government investigation, Australia’s media regulator will also conduct a separate review specifically focusing on emergency calls made to the triple zero (000) hotline. This comes after reports that the outage affected Optus landlines and disrupted emergency services.
Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications, has not yet determined the exact cause of the outage, but it has ruled out cyber hacks for now. This incident follows a cyber breach that Optus experienced 14 months ago, which received severe criticism from the government for its slow response to affected customers and government inquiries.
The government hopes that the investigation will lead to improvements in the post-outage processes of major telecommunications providers, including Optus and Telstra, the nation’s largest company in the sector. It also intends to explore the possibility of allowing customers to switch to alternative networks during outages to minimize disruptions.
According to Minister Rowland, it is crucial for both the industry and the government to assess their response to large-scale outages because no network is completely immune to such incidents. She indicated that the industry is prepared to cooperate, and the government plans to take this matter forward.
The investigation aims to provide insights and recommendations on how to enhance the resilience and reliability of Australia’s telecommunications networks. It will consider potential technological solutions and review the protocols followed by providers in responding to such outages.
As Australia examines the causes and consequences of this major telco outage, there is a shared goal of ensuring the country’s infrastructure can better withstand similar incidents in the future. By addressing the vulnerabilities and implementing necessary improvements, the government seeks to safeguard critical services, protect the public, and maintain a robust telecommunications sector.
