A 14-hour network outage in September impacted emergency services across South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and parts of far-west New South Wales. During this period, 455 out of 605 emergency calls failed to connect.
Systemic Failures Identified
An independent review, released on Thursday, identified at least 10 mistakes made by Optus and its contractor, Nokia, during a network upgrade. The origin of the outage stemmed from a failure to divert voice calls – including triple-zero calls – before closing a gateway at an exchange station in South Australia.
The review found it took Optus and Nokia 13 hours to fully understand the nature of the problem. Crucially, concerns raised by five individuals reporting failures with triple-zero calls were not immediately escalated by an Optus call centre. Furthermore, early alerts at a networks operations centre were, “astoundingly,” initially attributed to the ongoing upgrade process, according to the report by Kerry Schott.
Once the issue was understood, the report states it was rectified within minutes. However, Schott emphasized, “The real tragedy here was the duration of the triple-zero call outage and the failure of Optus and its contractors to deal immediately with the warning signals they received.”
Delayed Redirection and Limited ‘Camp-On’ Success
The review also highlighted issues with call redirection. Some devices took 40-60 seconds to be redirected to another network, a delay Schott noted is significant, stating, “In an emergency, people are unlikely to hang on for this length of time, especially when the only response they are getting is silence on the line.”
Only 66 callers were able to successfully utilize the “camp-on” process – where emergency calls are redirected through another network – a number Schott described as “puzzling.”
Response and Potential Next Steps
Optus Chairman John Arthur stated the failures were “unacceptable” and that the board is taking action against individuals, including potential financial penalties and sackings. Optus has pledged to implement all 21 recommendations from the report, focusing on improved upgrade processes and addressing internal silos.
The federal government has indicated that the nation’s communications regulator is continuing its investigation into the outage. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that access to triple zero is a “critical requirement” for mobile carriers and that work is ongoing to improve system resilience. The Greens have called for a government review of ‘camp-on’ provisions and Optus’ licence conditions.
It is possible that further regulatory scrutiny of Optus’ network infrastructure and emergency service protocols could occur. Analysts expect other telecommunications providers may also be asked to review their own systems and procedures. The National Telecom Resilience Centre, established by the federal government, is likely to increase its testing of emergency calling scenarios, including ‘camp-on’ functionality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What areas were affected by the outage?
The 14-hour outage impacted South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and parts of far-west NSW.
How many emergency calls failed to connect during the outage?
Of the 605 emergency calls attempted during the outage, 455 failed to connect.
What was the initial response to alerts about the problem?
Optus and Nokia initially attributed early alerts about the problem to the fact that network upgrades were underway.
Given the critical nature of emergency services, how confident are you in the resilience of telecommunications networks in your area?