At least three people died in Australia after a massive telecommunications failure. According to the BBC, a problem in the Optus Operator Network, one of the country’s main suppliers, deprived hundreds of network people for 13 hours, Thursday, September 18, in the middle of the territory, preventing them from communicating with emergency services.
A 6-week baby and a 68-year-old woman in Australia-Maridional due to collapse are among the victims, police said. Another death was reported in Australia-Western, according to local media.
An even more criticized dysfunction as Optus informed the public only 40 hours after the incident. Communication considered contrary to the standards of Australian communications and media authority (ACMA).
“A technical defect”
During an organized press conference the next day, Stephen Rue, general director of Optus, tried to defend himself by imputing the failure “to a technical defect identified during an update of the network.” The authorities think that a fourth person would have died in relation to the incident.
“I would like to repeat how much I feel for the very sad loss of lives of four people who could not reach emergency services if necessary,” Stephen said on Sunday, promising that “the measures are and will be taken to ensure that this does not happen again in the future.”
This is not the first time that Optus faces such crisis. In 2023, another large -scale failure had already prevented access to emergency services for 2,145 people, which resulted in a fine of more than $ 12 million Australian dollars.
An open investigation
Before the essay of these incidents, ACMA has opened an investigation still in progress, while the Minister of Communications, Anika Wells, denounced a “great failure towards the Australian people” and warned that Optus will have to face “important consequences.”
“Australians should be able to communicate with emergency services as soon as they need help. This is the fundamental responsibility of any telecommunications operator to the public,” said ACMA in his press release.
Source: BFM TV
