Optus Blames Vandalism for Widespread Fiber Optic Outage Impacting Thousands

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An act of vandalism has caused the latest significant Optus outage, affecting emergency service calls for more than 14,000 people, the telco has said.

Optus said the issue has been caused by vandals who damaged an aerial fibre line, affecting people in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula areas, south-east of Melbourne.

All 14,546 services impacted have been restored, according to the Optus website.

The embattled telco had earlier warned that emergency services were affected, telling customers they could only call triple zero if they were within range of another mobile network or had access to wi-fi.

In recent months, Optus has faced yet another significant challenge with a major outage affecting its network. This marks the fourth time that such a disruption has hindered access to emergency services, raising concerns among both users and officials.

During a Senate inquiry, Optus defended its response to the latest outage, which has stirred public and governmental scrutiny. The telecom giant’s handling of the situation has prompted questions and criticisms, with many demanding explanations for the repeated failures.

As the community grapples with the implications of these outages, a spokesperson expressed concern, stating, “There are too many people out in the community experiencing an outage that may be impacting their ability to contact emergency services.” This alarming pattern underscores the urgency for Optus to address the underlying issues to restore confidence and reliability in its service.

With the frequency of these disruptions, it is crucial for Optus to implement effective measures to prevent future incidents. The reliability of communication services is paramount, particularly when it comes to accessing emergency assistance. As investigations continue, there is a growing call for accountability and improved resilience within the telecommunications infrastructure.

“I can understand why there is a great concern in the community, particularly given some of the more recent incidents that have involved Optus.”

A scheduled firewall upgrade in South Australia triggered a communications outage on 18 September linked to the deaths of three Australians. That outage is the subject of a Senate inquiry.

Optus chief executive Stephen Rue blamed human error for that fault.

Normal calls were largely unaffected, but the outage blocked about 600 triple-zero calls from connecting to emergency services.

Inquiry chair Senator Sarah Hanson-Young called for an urgent review of Optus’ licence.

“They are clearly not capable of providing this essential service and keeping Australians safe,” she said.

Opposition communications spokesperson Melissa McIntosh said the outage was unacceptable, regardless of the fault.

“Optus has an obligation to provide triple-zero services to Australians anywhere and at any time. The ongoing triple-zero outages must stop,” she said in a statement.

— With additional reporting from the Australian Associated Press