But the federal government cannot rely on industry for such crucial reform.
It is clear why this has “been allowed to happen again”. As veteran telecommunications analyst Paul Budde told this masthead’s technology editor David Swan, Australia’s telco industry has for decades “prioritised competitive advantage over resilience”, resisting national roaming and network gateways.
He is right to suggest, alongside others, that the government should take a harder line, and mandate and regulate call redundancy protocols that would switch a failed emergency call to another available network, as well as enforce real-time testing of Triple Zero connectivity across all carriers.
Optus’ customer service team were first told about problems with Triple Zero at 9am on Thursday. It is unacceptable that this information seemingly became lost in the telco’s system, until a call from South Australian Police that afternoon sounded the alarm.
A 68-year-old woman. A 74-year-old man. A 49-year-old man. An eight-week-old baby. And the 600 more whose emergency calls also failed.
To access lifesaving public healthcare, these Australians were forced to rely on a private company’s service. It is a tragedy for the deceased and their families, but also for the emergency services personnel who were unable to help these people in their darkest hour.
Optus may have failed them, but their lives shouldn’t have been solely in its hands.
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