Optus is currently investigating a network outage in New South Wales that resulted in nine failed emergency calls to the triple-0 service, occurring near Wollongong on December 3, 2023. The telecommunications company disclosed that the issue originated from a mobile phone tower site in Dapto, disrupting calls from approximately 03:00 to 12:20. Fortunately, Optus has confirmed with local police that all individuals who attempted to reach emergency services during this time are safe.
This latest outage follows closely on the heels of a significant service disruption just ten days earlier, which was linked to the deaths of four individuals. In response to the prior incident, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has initiated an investigation.
Previous Outages and Regulatory Actions
In November 2023, Optus experienced a nationwide outage, which left 2,145 people without access to the emergency call service. The ACMA’s investigation revealed serious deficiencies in Optus’s network reliability, leading to a fine of $12 million in 2024. Following this sanction, the public was assured that measures would be implemented to prevent similar failures in the future.
The recent outage in Dapto has affected an estimated 4,500 customers. While service has now been restored, Optus has issued an apology to those impacted. The company is working diligently to determine the root causes of these repeated failures and to implement corrective actions to enhance service reliability and customer safety.
As these investigations continue, the pressure is mounting on Optus to restore public confidence in its ability to provide reliable communication services, especially in critical situations involving emergency calls.
