Optus has appointed Kerry Schott to lead an independent review into the Sept 18 technical failure that disrupted emergency calls across South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Schott, an experienced executive and board director, is regarded by Optus as well placed to conduct the probe, given her background in infrastructure, energy and telecommunications and her experience straddling both the public and private sectors.
The review will examine the root causes of the outage and assess processes, protocols and operations that contributed to the incident. It will also scrutinise how Optus manages Triple Zero calls, including monitoring systems, operational effectiveness and compliance with procedures and legislation. The company’s immediate response to the disruption will also be evaluated.
The inquiry is expected to conclude before year-end, with findings presented to the Optus board and subsequently made public.
On Sept 21, Optus said preliminary internal investigations suggest the glitch stemmed from a deviation from standard procedures during a network firewall upgrade.
In a separate statement, Optus owner Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) said it will “continue to fully support the Optus board and management team as they work through this incident.”
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“Optus is in the midst of an ongoing transformation led by Stephen Rue who was appointed 11 months ago to lead the charge. We are committed to the continued transformation of Optus to improve the processes and resiliency of the company and improve the reliability of critical services,” says Singtel group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon.
