Full Story Optus under fire for triple-zero failure
Sep 23, 2025
Telecommunications expert Mark Gregory from RMIT University joins the conversation to dissect the Optus outage that disrupted emergency services across multiple states. He highlights the scale of the failure, linking it to critical delays in notifying authorities and underlying infrastructure issues. Gregory emphasizes the need for tougher penalties for repeat offenders and stronger regulations to ensure reliability. He raises concerns about public trust in emergency services and advocates for immediate reforms to prevent future tragedies.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Failed Triple-Zero During A Fall
- Mark Gregory recounts Kirsty's call where her mother had fallen and triple zero calls failed repeatedly.
- The ambulance eventually came but Optus later called to ask if emergency services were still required.
Scale Matched Past Major Failures
- Mark Gregory says the outage was as big as other major telco failures in the past decade.
- He describes Optus as not understanding the problem across the business and understating the scale initially.
Promised Reforms Were Ignored
- Optus agreed to Bean Review recommendations but still failed to notify emergency services promptly.
- Gregory calls the delayed 5.30pm Friday disclosure a managed attempt to limit damage that was poorly executed.