Millions of Aussies impacted by major Optus outage cutting mobile and internet service
Millions of Aussies are being impacted by a major Optus outage affecting phones, broadband and mobile data.
According to Downdetector, reports of the outage started about 4am on Wednesday morning, with almost 8,000 reported by just after 6am.
Issues with the network have been reported across the country in Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide and has created major delays for commuters and impacting health services.
Metro Trains in Melbourne reported issues with the the transport network due to a communication issue.
“Services are currently stopped due to a communications outage across the train network,” a spokesperson posted to X – formerly known as Twitter – about 4.40am.
“Please reconsider travel on the network and consider alternate travel arrangements until further notice.”
However by just after 6am, all Train services resumed across the Metro network though major delays to all lines with select alterations and cancellations expected.
A number of hospitals in Melbourne have been impacted, with Northern Health saying its campuses were down.
“This includes phone lines into Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre, Craigieburn Centre, Kilmore District Hospital, and Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED),” it said.
“We apologise for any inconvenience.”
Customers have also reported issues with their mobile service on X, with one dubbing the outage an “absolute failure”.
“I‘ve never seen a carrier go down nationwide before, but Optus are special apparently,” one user wrote.
“Absolute failure.”
“If anyone could fail on the national stage it’s @Optus,” a second person wrote.
Over 600 Amaysim customers – the budget service provider operated by Optus – have also reported outages.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said on Wednesday morning they are “seeking information from Optus on the major outage”.
“We understand from reports that the telco is working to resolve the outage as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.
“Connectivity is essential for Australian consumers and businesses, and the impacts of this outage are concerning.
“The government has sought further information from Optus about this development and when they expect service will be restored.”
It is understood the outage is not a result of a cyber hack.
An Optus spokesperson said the telco is “aware of an issue that may be impacting some of our mobile and internet customers”.
“We are currently working to identify the cause and apologise for any inconvenience,” they said.
Customers in an emergency are urged to call triple-0.
Cyber hacks and staff sacked
The telco has faced a number of issues in recent years including most prominently a major cyber hack last year.
Almost 10 million Optus customers had their personal details compromised in 2022 when hackers taunted the public for weeks by releasing the details of 10,000 customers on the dark web.
A class action was launched by 100,000 customers in April alleging that Optus failed to protect customers personal information, destroy customers’ information, and ensure it could only be accessed for legitimate reasons.
In September, it was reported the telco would be laying off almost half of its staff at an Adelaide call centre.
At least 150 Optus call centre workers at the North Terrace office were reportedly made redundant, according to 7NEWS.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/business/major-optus-outage-across-australia-c-12477818 Millions of Aussies impacted by major Optus outage cutting mobile and internet service