The heads of the nation’s three largest mobile phone companies have been ordered to Canberra to face Communications Minister Anika Wells and explain how they will avoid a Triple Zero outage during the coming bushfire season.
In a sign of the political pressure facing Wells and the government since the deaths of three people after 600 calls to the emergency phone system failed in mid-September, the heads of Telstra, Optus and TPG will face the minister on Tuesday.
Communications Minister Anika Wells has called in the heads of the nation’s largest phone companies. Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Optus chief Stephen Rue, who faced Wells in a meeting last week, Telstra boss Vicki Brady and TPG head Inaki Berroeta will not only be questioned about preparations for summer but whether they will meet new rules starting from November 1 that govern outages.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is holding an inquiry into the events of September 18, when Triple Zero callers using Optus in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory were unable to connect with emergency services.
[SRC] https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/telco-heads-hauled-in-to-face-angry-government-20251005-p5n072.html
