Singtel Expresses Deep Regret Over Fatal Power Outage at Australia’s Optus

Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), owner of Australia’s second-largest telecom company Optus, issued an apology on Wednesday for a power outage at Optus that may have contributed to the deaths of up to four people. The outage disrupted emergency call services across two states and the Northern Territory.

Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said the company is working closely with the Optus board to investigate last week’s power outage and prevent similar incidents in the future. He also emphasized that Optus is cooperating fully with government agencies and regulatory authorities.

In a statement, Yuen said, “We are deeply saddened by the network incident at our Optus subsidiary, which affected Triple-0 emergency calls. It is distressing to learn that customers were unable to access emergency services when they needed them most.”

Optus previously stated that a network firewall upgrade malfunction caused a 13-hour blackout last week, disrupting emergency call services and affecting roughly 600 customers, including those in remote areas who were unable to make phone calls.

Public anger in Australia over the outage has been growing, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling the incident “completely unacceptable.”

Optus CEO Stephen Rue said on Wednesday that preliminary investigations indicate the outage was likely caused by human error, and he acknowledged that procedures were not properly followed during the blackout.

Rue added that Kerry Schott, a non-executive director at AGL Energy, would lead an independent review of the technical failure.

Speaking at a media briefing, Rue said, “Our internal investigation is ongoing. This independent review will identify the causes and examine the relevant processes, protocols, and operational practices.”

He further noted, “The review will also evaluate how Triple-0 calls were managed within the Optus network, including monitoring and operational effectiveness related to the technical failure.”

The independent review is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with findings communicated to the Optus board before being made public.