Three dead during phone network failure that affected emergency calls in Australia

Welfare checks found three people dead in households who had attempted to make emergency triple zero calls

The incident comes less than a year after Optus was fined for failing to provide emergency call services to thousands during a nationwide outage in 2023 (Getty/iStock)

Three people have died in Australia following a technical failure at Optus, the country's second-largest telecommunications provider, which disrupted vital emergency call services.

Optus CEO Stephen Rue stated the malfunction occurred during a network upgrade on Thursday, potentially impacting 600 customers across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.

Mr Rue confirmed on Friday that welfare checks subsequently found three individuals deceased in homes where attempts had been made to dial the emergency triple zero ('000') number. Investigations are continuing.

"I want to offer a sincere apology to all customers who could not connect to emergency services when they needed them most," Rue said.

"I offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the people who passed away. I am so sorry for your loss. What has happened is completely unacceptable. We have let you down."

Girls browse on their mobile phones in front of Australian communications company Optus outlet in the central business district of Sydney on 8 November 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Asked how long the failure lasted, Rue said that was still being investigated.

Optus, which is owned by Singapore Telecommunications , had fixed the fault, was conducting a thorough investigation and would make the results public once completed, he said.

The incident comes less than a year after Optus was fined A$12 million ($7.9 million) by regulators for failing to provide emergency call services to thousands during a nationwide outage in 2023.

Optus also suffered a cyber attack in 2022 that affected the data of around 9.5 million Australians and a network-wide outage in 2023, which prompted the resignation of then-CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin. Rue took the reins in November 2024.