Optus CEO Stephen Rue rejects criticism that Singtel underinvested in network before failure
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More news: Stephen Rue told media on Wednesday that the emergency-network outage last week was due to a failure of process, not underinvestment from parent company Singtel.
Responding to queries about Singtel's capital expenditure into Optus's telecommunications network, Rue said that Singtel had invested $9.3 billion in Optus over the last five years.
Though Singtel has spent less on Optus in recent years, Rue said that was coming off particularly capital-intensive years of building out its 5G network. The issue last week related to process failures rather than failing equipment, he said.
The particular cause of the outage was due to Optus failing to block calls to the part of the network being upgraded and re-route them to other areas.
Rue also brushed off questions about his own future at the company, where he's led as chief executive for less than a year. Responding to Anthony Albanese's remarks that the prime minister would be "surprised" if Rue wasn't considering his future at the telco, Rue said that the outage is "not about me".
What they said: "You can hardly say that $9.3 billion worth of investment is not significant investment," Rue said. "What we're talking about... is process, not expenditure. The process, standard process, was not followed. That's not, that's not an investment issue."
On the process not followed, Rue said: "Our preliminary investigations have determined that on the first night of the upgrade, the steps taken on past successful upgrades of a similar nature were not followed".
"Step one in the previous successful upgrades, the process was to divert calls away from the relevant part of the core network [to] a separate part of the core network.
"Step two involves the equipment behind the firewall being upgraded, being locked. And step three is to then safely upgrade the firewall, with the final step being to unlock and re-divert the traffic back.
"On this occasion of the upgrade, on September the 18th [that] caused the triple zero outage, the first step in the process was not followed."
Optus brings in Kerry Schott to lead review into triple-zero outage
The news: Optus has commissioned senior business director and former Sydney Water CEO Kerry Schott to lead an independent review into the failure of triple-zero services that has been linked to four deaths.
The context: The independent review will seek to identify the causes and “canvass the applicable processes, protocols and operations, of the incident on 18 September 2025”.
It will also examine the “operational management of triple-zero calls in the Optus network” as well as Optus' response to the incident “including adherence to policies, procedures and legislative requirements”.
The report is due to be completed by the end of the year. It is expected that the report findings will be made public by the Optus board after they consider it.
Schott has extensive private and public experience including across the infrastructure, energy and telecommunications sectors.
She chaired the federal government’s Competition Taskforce Expert Advisory Panel and is currently chair of the New South Wales Net Zero Emissions and Clean Economy Board, EnergyCo NSW. Schott is also an adviser to Aware Super.
Federal Communication Minister Anika Wells said on Monday that an investigation into the outage was a "priority" for the government and that Optus would face consequences. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would be "surprised" if Optus CEO Stephen Rue did not resign.
What they said: “What has occurred is clearly unacceptable, and on behalf of the board I apologise for this failure in our accountability to all those who relied on our triple-zero services. I particularly express my deep condolences to the families and friends of the four people who passed away,” Optus chair John Arthur said.
“The Optus board is working with chief executive Stephen Rue and his team to ensure we develop a full understanding of what went wrong and why, and what we need to do to prevent any repetition.
“In the interests of transparency — and to promote greater community understanding of what went wrong and why — we are committed to sharing the facts of the incident.”
The source: Optus media release
