ACMA Sues Optus Over Triple Zero Outage as Singtel Eyes Stake Sale

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has commenced Federal Court proceedings against Optus Mobile Pty Limited over a network outage that occurred on September 18, 2025. The regulator alleges Optus breached legal obligations on 1,005 occasions by failing to provide end-users access to the Triple Zero emergency call service. The outage lasted nearly 14 hours and affected 600 calls, with 455 failing to connect. Reports indicate these outages were linked to either two or four deaths.

An independent review by Kerry Schott identified at least 10 mistakes made by Optus and its contractor, Nokia, during a network upgrade. ACMA Chair Nerida O'Loughlin noted that this failure followed a November 2023 outage that resulted in over $12 million in penalties. The ACMA is now seeking pecuniary penalties of up to $250,000 per contravention. Optus acknowledged the proceedings and stated its focus is on building a stronger network and implementing the Schott report recommendations.

Simultaneously, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) confirmed it is in discussions with multiple parties regarding a potential sale of a stake in Optus. While Singtel provided no certainty of a deal, reports suggest a stake of more than 30% could be offered in a transaction worth over $2 billion.