Optus Investigates Outage Leading to Failed Emergency Calls in NSW
Optus is investigating a network outage that resulted in nine failed triple-0 calls near Wollongong on the NSW south coast. The incident occurred early on Sunday, prompting an apology from the embattled telco.
Details of the Dapto Outage
The company issued a statement confirming the problem stemmed from a mobile phone tower site in Dapto. The outage affected calls between 3:00 AM and 12:20 PM on Sunday, including calls to the triple-0 network. Optus has stated it has since confirmed with police that "all callers who attempted to contact emergency services are OK".
- The triple-0 call failures included:
- A caller needing an ambulance who used another phone to contact emergency services.
- A caller unable to get through to emergency services.
- Four calls referred to NSW Police for welfare checks, including two from the same address (all confirmed as OK).
- Two callers who accidentally called triple-0.
Recent History of Optus Outages
This incident occurs just 10 days after a previous, more significant outage that led to hundreds of failed triple-0 calls. Four deaths are now linked to that earlier outage, prompting an investigation by the Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA). In November 2023, Optus experienced a nationwide outage, affecting a considerable number of customers.
Regulatory Action and Apology
ACMA found that Optus failed to provide access to the emergency call service for 2,145 people during the November 2023 outage. The telco was subsequently fined $12 million in 2024, with assurances made to the public that such an event would not recur. Optus estimates that approximately 4,500 people were affected by the recent Dapto outage and has issued an apology to the impacted customers. Service to the area has been restored.
