Ten million Australians without internet and telephone
In Australia, a total outage at the second-largest mobile phone provider Optus has 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.
According to a report by the broadcaster 9News, this is the largest telecommunications outage in the country's history. In a statement published by the company at midday, it said that it would probably take hours to restore the network.
"The good news is that we have found a way to restore the entire network," said Optus managing director Kelly Bayer Rosmarin. However, this can only be done gradually and will take some time. Meanwhile, it was unclear what caused the outage. The authorities ruled out a cyber attack. "This is a very unusual incident and as soon as we understand exactly what happened, we will provide details," emphasized Rosmarin.
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 delays in transportation and the failure of mobile payment systems.
Optus is Australia's second-largest provider after Telstra. Just last year, the company made headlines when hackers stole sensitive data from millions of Australians in an attack.
Due to the network issues at Optus, many Australians reliant on the mobile phone provider for their internet and telephone connections have been affected. This outage, reported as the largest telecommunications disruption in the country's history, has affected telephone lines to hospitals and emergency services, making alternative communication methods crucial.
Despite the managing director's reassurance that a solution to restore the network is in sight, Optus, being Australia's second-largest telecommunications provider after Telstra, has faced scrutiny following last year's data breach incident.
Source: www.dpa.com
