UPDATE: Optus is facing urgent calls for a regulatory overhaul following a catastrophic triple-0 outage that left hundreds of Australians unable to access emergency services. The incident, which began on September 18, 2023, saw the number of affected customers skyrocket from 10 to 600 within 24 hours, raising serious questions about the telco’s governance and crisis management.
The outage was reported to Communications Minister Anika Wells, who has since been vocal about the need for accountability. During a Senate inquiry earlier this week, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young demanded the resignation of Optus CEO Stephen Rue, asking, “Who’s going to get the sack?” Yet, experts warn that simply targeting the executive branch will not resolve the deeper systemic issues within the company.
Melbourne University Law School professor Jeannie Paterson emphasized the need for a comprehensive review of Optus’s governance structures rather than focusing solely on executive personnel. “We need to ask what the governance structures throughout the organisation look like,” she stated. The inquiry revealed that Optus had multiple internal meetings, including discussions with its parent company, Singtel, before publicly linking the outage to three tragic deaths.
Officials have criticized Optus for its failure to promptly inform both the government and the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) about the scale of the emergency. Despite this, Optus maintains that it did not breach regulatory obligations. However, Professor Paterson argues that the telco’s “rule-based approach mentality” is inadequate, especially in a crisis where lives are at stake. “There should have been a process for assessing the magnitude of that risk and providing a more effective response,” she added.
As scrutiny of Optus intensifies, the ACMA itself is under fire for not imposing stricter regulations. The Senate inquiry suggested that the ACMA has not been “tough enough” on Optus, raising concerns about the effectiveness of existing oversight mechanisms. Professor Paterson warned that while adding new rules could hinder innovation, clearer performance outcomes are needed to ensure accountability in critical areas.
In response to the outage, the government has fast-tracked new legislation that empowers it to demand real-time information from telecommunications companies. Starting on November 1, 2023, this legislation will allow the government to monitor triple-0 performance more closely and respond quickly to future outages.
The ongoing developments pose a significant challenge for Optus, which is already facing multiple investigations. While some officials have floated the idea of revoking Optus’s operating license, experts caution that such a move could limit competition in the market. “Optus is not too big to fail, but removing it would restrict the kind of competition we want,” Professor Paterson said.
As the situation unfolds, the focus remains on whether Optus can rectify its internal governance issues and restore public trust. This incident highlights the critical need for robust communication protocols in the telecommunications industry, particularly when lives are on the line. As Australians await further updates, the implications of this outage will likely resonate across the telecommunications landscape for years to come.
