Matt Hewson
Major telecommunications provider Optus has suffered a significant outage, affecting thousands of customers and businesses across the Greater Geelong region, including the council and Barwon Health.
Reports of the outage emerged around 4am Wednesday morning, with the telco issuing statements this morning via X, formerly Twitter.
The cause of the outage is still unknown, with Optus stating in a 6.47am tweet it was “aware of an issue impacting Optus mobile and nbn services” and was “working to restore services as quickly as possible”.
“We understand connectivity is important and apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the statement read.
Optus released another update around 8.30am.
“Our teams are working urgently to restore services,” it said.
“We will provide updates as soon as possible. We apologise sincerely to our customers.”
Barwon Health reported just before 9am phones across the organisation were down.
“This is affecting mobiles and landlines. More information will be provided once further updates are known,” the statement said.
The City of Greater Geelong has also had its phone lines affected, but assured residents “alternative methods are available to ensure uninterrupted access to essential services and information”.
“We encourage residents and visitors to utilise our web form enquiries as an alternative means of getting in touch with us,” a spokesperson said.
“Our website features user-friendly web forms that allow you to submit inquiries, reports, or requests for services.
“The City’s public Wi-Fi network is functioning without any issues. You can connect to the internet and access important information or communicate with the council through this network.”
Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland urged Optus to communicate with its customers by whatever means possible to keep them updated.
“Connectivity is essential for Australian consumers and businesses. The impacts of this outage are concerning and has left many Australians feeling anxious,” Ms Rowland said.
“The government has sought further information from Optus about this development and when they expect services will be restored.”
