TRANSCRIPT
The Optus meltdown of November the 8th has been described as the worst network outage in Australian history.
The federal government is now launching a review into it; Communications Minister Michelle Rowland telling the ABC the review is aimed at better safeguarding Australia in the case there are future incidents like this.
“It's about being proactive, and using this as an opportunity to identify potential failures in the system, where things can be improved, and by appointing someone distinguished in the form of Mr Richard Bean, who has a long history with the regulator, but also in the sector, this will ensure that we have a thorough evidence base for regulations going forward.”
In a statement provided to SBS, an Optus spokesperson says the company agrees with what the government is doing.
“Optus welcomes the government's review and the opportunity to share learnings that may help others in our sector, and improve customer experiences.”
The review is expected to make a number of recommendations.
Ms Rowland told the ABC that access to emergency services will be a prime focus of them.
“We want to ensure that the industry overall understands what those issues are, that we lift the bar when it comes to keeping Australians safe and making sure we have confidence in that triple zero service. So, that will certainly be a prime focus of this investigation.”
Optus admits more than 200 people were unable to contact triple zero during the outage.
That's despite existing laws that state if one carrier's service is down, triple zero calls can use another carrier's network to get through.
Salil Kanhere from the University of New South Wales is a Professor of Engineering.
He's one of many people now arguing that more needs to be done to make sure that does indeed happen, and perhaps expand that capability to not only triple zero calls during outages, but basic communications access during times of natural disaster and the like as well.
“There should be mechanisms in place whereby at least some parts of the traffic could be routed. Right, okay, maybe you don't want to allow people to watch streaming videos during that time. But, if there's a business, if there's something important you probably want to be able to move that kind of traffic onto other networks.”
A recent report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found that emergency roaming, which would allow Australians to connect to any available mobile network during natural disasters and other emergencies, is technically feasible.
But further work is needed to design and develop its capability.
The government review will also explore how customer complaints and compensation claims are managed.
But it won't be investigating the cause of the outage, or Optus' attempts at customer remediation.
Professor Kanhere says that may be a mistake.
“They have done a few things. I understand they are offering extra data to customers. Which is nice. But, at the same time, they perhaps need to also consider the impact it has had on businesses. Because, it was a significant impact for many businesses.”
The report will be presented to the government in February of next year.
