Optus outage leaves 10 million without mobile or internet network: Boss’s silence makes alarming admission about the cause.
Optus has suffered one of the biggest outages in Australian history. The Optus crash has affected 10 million with customers impacted hospitals, businesses, and transport networks all in chaos, and even Triple Zero calls affected from Optus landline phones.
The outage was first reported at 4 am on Wednesday with Optus mobile users unable to make or receive calls and texts, with the internet network and home broadband also down.
Optus users in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, the ACT, Tasmania and Adelaide have all reported a blackout with the network.
In an alarming update just before 11 am, Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin acknowledged the telco still doesn’t know what is behind the catastrophic outage that continues to affect millions of Aussies.
She said the team was still working on the cause, adding there was nothing to suggest it was the result of a hack.
Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin told ABC Radio the outage occurred at roughly 4.05 a.m. this morning and is doubtful it could be a “hack”.
“There is no indication that there is anything to do with cyber at this stage,” she said.
Earlier this morning, she confirmed that the government is “seeking information from Optus on the major outage”.
“Our systems are actually very stable, we provide great coverage to our customers, this is a very rare occurrence.
Ms Bayer Rosmarin was unable to confirm the timeframe for a fix.
10 Million people in Australia woke up to a major internet outage as Optus experienced a significant disruption. This outage led to chaos in transport systems and the closure of cafes, with ride-sharing services experiencing surging prices. It is being described as one of the largest outages in Australian history.”
In a disturbing development, the telco warned Australians that Triple Zero calls made from an Optus landline would not work – which would affect a small number of Australians. Triple Zero is working as normal across the country.
‘We encourage any customers who need to contact emergency services to use a mobile line to call 000,’ Optus said.
‘Optus can confirm that Triple zero (‘000′) calls will not work from an Optus landline (fixed line telephone). Mobile calls to 000 will work if another carrier is available.’
Melbourne’s train network also shut down earlier on Wednesday, leaving many commuters stranded.
It’s believed this was a result of the Optus outage. Metro Trains have since confirmed services have resumed but major delays are expected.
Uber prices have also surged as many drivers are forced offline due to the blackout.
Other carriers that use the Optus mobile network like Amaysim, Vaya, Aussie Broadband, Moose Mobile, Coles Mobile, Spintel, Southern Phone, and Dodo Mobile are also down.
Is Australia under attack by hackers?
Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowlands said she was yet to receive an update from Optus but it appeared to be a ‘deep and significant’ network problem.
‘I can’t speculate at this time about whether or not this is something to do with some sort of cyber hack,’ she told 2GB Radio on Wednesday.
‘All I do know is that it is impacting on Australians, that customers do want to know what is going on.
‘I would urge Optus to get that information out through any channels that are possible and to do that as a priority.’
Melbourne’s Northern Health District said their hospitals’ phone lines had been impacted.
‘All phone lines into Northern Health campuses are currently being affected by an Optus outage,’ they said.
‘This includes phone lines into Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre, Craigieburn Centre, Kilmore District Hospital, and Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED). We apologise for any inconvenience.’
Sydney’s Westmead Private Hospital is experiencing the same issue.
‘Due to the national outage of Optus all our phone lines are unfortunately down, to contact the hospital, please email us on admissions,’ the hospital said.
St Vincent’s and the Mater hospitals are also impacted.
The Sydney Airport, the Australian Tax Office, NRMA and big banks such as Commonwealth and ANZ have also experienced issues, as have eftpos machines linked with Optus in businesses.
One carer in Melbourne said they weren’t able to call an ambulance after their patient suffered a cardiac arrest. Many Aussie Optus subscribers have shared their frustration online, with some only able to make SOS calls.
Optus has 10.2million users across the country.
