Singpore’s Singtel apologises over emergency line outage linked to deaths

The largest telecom company in Singapore has apologised for a number of deaths caused by an Australian emergency services outage.

After hundreds of calls to Australia’s Triple Zero (000) emergency line failed last week due to a significant technical glitch, Singtel, the owner of Australian telecom Optus, apologized on Wednesday.

Three people died as a result of the Optus network’s interruption on Thursday.

Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said the company was “deeply sorry” about the incident in a statement released on the Singapore stock exchange’s website.

We know that Optus will get to the bottom of this matter, Yuen said, and our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who have passed away.

“We are working with the management and the Optus board to ensure a thorough investigation of this incident to stop any recurrence in the future.”

Under CEO Stephen Rue, who took the position in November, Singtel was committed to the “ongoing transformation” of Optus.

The Singtel Group has contributed over $ 9.3 billion]$6.1 billion] to Optus over the past five years, with a significant portion of that being used to build network infrastructure across Australia, and it will continue to do so, according to Yuen.

Rue apologized as well.

He said, “I’m so sorry for the very sad loss of the lives of four people who were unable to access emergency services in their time of need,” adding: “There are no words that can express how sorry I am.

An independent investigation into the issue would be led by Singtel and Optus, according to Singtel and Optus. Kerry Schott, an Australian executive with senior positions at Deutsche Bank and Sydney Water.

The apologies came as Optus, a crisis-stricken company, received a separate $66 million fine on Wednesday for using phony sales tactics that led to thousands of dollars in debt for vulnerable customers.

Australian Federal Court Justice Patrick O’Sullivan argued in a drudgery that Optus’ sales practices between 2019 and 2023 were “unconscionable,” “appalling,” and “extremely serious.”

O’Sullivan claimed that Optus had “undue pressure or influence” on customers who were many Indigenous people in remote areas to purchase goods they did not need or could not afford, including instances where staff sold plans to residents who had no access to the network.

O’Sullivan claimed that the telecom misled customers into thinking certain goods were free because they didn’t clearly define contract terms and conditions and pursued debt collection in cases where they had engaged in unfavorable sales practices.

O’Sullivan approved the fine after Optus and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission reached a consensus on the fine in June.

Second-largest telecom company in Australia has recently experienced a number of regulatory fines as a result of significant network failures.

The company was fined $ 9 million in 2024 for another outage that had previously hampered more than 2, 000 Triple Zero calls.