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Total failure: Ten million Australians without internet or telephone

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Total failure
Ten million Australians without internet or telephone

Sunset in Sydney (symbolic image). photo

© Mick Tsikas/AAP/dpa

A network problem with the provider Optus has paralyzed large parts of Australia. After hours it is still unclear what exactly happened.

In Australia there is one A total failure at the second largest mobile phone provider Optus paralyzed the telephone and internet connections of more than ten million people. Since the early hours of the morning (local time), customers across the country have been unable to make calls or go online, Australian media reported on Wednesday. According to a report by broadcaster 9News, it is the largest telecommunications outage in the country’s history. In a statement from the company published at midday, it said it would probably take hours until the network was restored.

“The good news is that we have found a way to restore the entire network,” said Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin. However, this can only happen gradually and will take some time. Customers may then have to restart their devices, it said. By early evening, services were reportedly largely restored – after almost 14 hours.

A “very rare incident”

It was initially unclear what caused the failure. In the afternoon, Rosmarin spoke of a “technical network problem”. The company will conduct a “thorough root cause analysis” before releasing further information, she told Australian broadcaster ABC. But it is a “very rare incident”. The authorities had already ruled out a cyber attack. Among other things, telephone connections to hospitals and emergency services were interrupted. “If Optus customers need to call emergency services, we recommend finding a family member or neighbor with an alternative device,” the website said. There were also transport delays and mobile payment system failures.

When asked about possible compensation, Rosmarin said Optus will “now start to think about how we can thank customers for their patience and how we reward them for their loyalty to Optus.”

Optus is Australia’s second largest provider after Telstra. The company only made headlines last year when hackers stole sensitive data from millions of Australians in an attack.