What happens when you dial 000 in an emergency — and no one picks up?
That’s the nightmare Australian officials say unfolded last week.
A massive Optus network outage left parts of the country unable to call for help for 13 hours.
Now the government is promising “significant consequences” for the telco giant after at least three deaths were linked to the failure.
Optus, one of Australia’s biggest providers, admitted more than 600 emergency calls didn’t go through.
The worst impact was in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Critics say the company waited nearly two days to tell the public or regulators, breaching standard protocols.
Optus Under Fire
“Australians must be able to contact emergency services whenever they need help,” warned the communications regulator, which is now investigating.
Chief executive Stephen Rue called the failure “completely unacceptable,” blaming a technical glitch during a network upgrade.
He apologised to families and vowed sweeping changes.
But Communications Minister Anika Wells says Optus has “no excuse” for a repeat failure after a similar outage last year.
Daily updates and investigations are under way.
Still, as one minister put it, Australians deserve more than apologies — they deserve a network they can count on when it matters most.
