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Optus

This Month

Former NBN boss Stephen Rue has taken the reins at Optus.

New Optus boss promises company ‘reset’ after horror two years

The incoming CEO says he will draw on a decade of experience at the national broadband network to focus on customer service amid tight household budgets.

  • Jenny Wiggins and Paul Smith
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten is working on trusted digital identities to stop scams and data breaches.

Verifiable credentials: Shorten’s ID push to stop scams

One of the nation’s biggest banks will help test the roll-out of trusted digital identities to stop scams and prevent data breaches of personal information.

  • Andrew Tillett
Optus sold its tower network to a business majority-owned by AustralianSuper in 2021.

AustralianSuper axes CEO of mobile towers biz

Street Talk understands AustralianSuper has sent Cameron Evans packing three years after he named to the top job.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

October

Optus pushed phone and internet plans on vulnerable people despite knowing they could not afford them, the ACCC has alleged

Optus ‘exploited’ vulnerable people, ACCC alleges

The telco group sold phone plans to people who could not use them at home because there was no Optus coverage where they lived, the competition watchdog claims.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Tech Council chairwoman Robyn Denholm and her fellow board members have been criticised by members for failing to act against Richard White until he chose to resign.

Angry members brand Tech Council a ‘billionaires lunch club’

The industry association for some of the country’s largest technology firms failed to act on allegations against WiseTech founder Richard White, they say.

  • Tess Bennett and Amelia McGuire
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Optus has denied claims that its 2022 cyberattack was not very sophisticated

Optus disputes ACMA’s ‘not highly sophisticated’ cyberattack claim

The hacker in Optus’ 2022 data breach had “a high degree of knowledge” of the telecommunications group’s confidential systems, Optus has claimed.

  • Jenny Wiggins
The government will test whether low orbiting satellite connections can manage to make mobile phones connect in bad weather.

Former PwC consultants test satellite replacements for copper wires

Satellites orbiting close to Earth will be tested by PwC spin-off Scyne Advisory to see if they can handle mobile phone calls in bad weather.

  • Jenny Wiggins

September

Former Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin testified at the Senate inquiry into the telco’s outage

Optus communications ‘manifestly inadequate’ in 2023 phone outage

Senators want new rules to force telco groups to keep the public updated when phone and internet connections fail.

  • Updated
  • Jenny Wiggins
Optus sold its tower network to a business majority-owned by AustralianSuper in 2021.

AusSuper’s mobile towers empire slumps deep into the red

The country’s largest superannuation investor was already at odds with its partner, Singtel-owned Optus, over a delay in rolling out network infrastructure.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telco companies don’t want to pay fees to add antennas to existing mobile phone towers.

Telco groups protest state ‘profiteering’ from antennas

Telecommunications companies are pushing NSW to scrap fees for adding antennas and other equipment to mobile towers on Crown land.

  • Jenny Wiggins
ASIC is investigating how boards and directors have responded to cyberattacks following warnings from ASIC chairman Joe Longo.

ASIC pursues board directors over cyber breaches 

ASIC says more investigations are underway, scrutinising how boards and directors have responded to cyberattacks.

  • Tess Bennett
Stephen Rue has been named Optus’ next CEO. But has some loose ends to tie up at NBN Co first.

Optus recruits make the most of NBN’s gardening leave

Catching everyone’s eye was Stephen Rue, having “continued to provide ongoing service to NBN Co during his notice period”.

  • Myriam Robin
xx

Shorten quits; Blackstone’s $100b AirTrunk plan; Corrs’ latest exit

Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.

Communications tower, Australia

TPG Telecom, Optus network-sharing deal gets ACCC approval

TPG Telecom will market its mobile phone services to more Australians after the competition regulator said it could share networks with Optus in regional areas.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Vocus Group CEO Ellie Sweeney will run the National Broadband Network from December.

NBN Co names Vocus’ Ellie Sweeney as next CEO

The Vocus Group boss will step into Stephen Rue’s shoes as he prepares to take the reins at Optus.

  • Jenny Wiggins
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August

Telephone companies are gearing up for a battle over what kinds of technology can be used to replace traditional fixed phone lines

Telcos gear up for tech showdown

Australia’s biggest telcos are battling for taxpayer dollars in the debate over replacing ageing copper wires.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Telstra CEO Vicki Brady

Why Telstra’s latest strategy shift might pay off

Why Vicki Brady wants to keep Telstra’s infrastructure assets close and growing even if mobiles remain today’s success story.

  • Updated
  • Jennifer Hewett
Optus is in an increasingly acrimonious dispute with the owner of its network infrastructure, AustralianSuper.

Optus falls out with its mobile towers investor AustralianSuper

The country’s largest super fund acquired a controlling stake in the telco’s infrastructure business for almost $2 billion in 2021. But relations have since soured.

  • Aaron Weinman and Jenny Wiggins
Authorities say a cyber incident happens once every six minutes in Australia.

Companies to face fines for failing to disclose cyber ransom payments

Legislation due to be introduced to federal parliament within weeks will require businesses with a turnover of $3 million or more to report payments to hackers.

  • Tom McIlroy
ptus has incurred a $480 million annual net loss, confirming a slump in demand for traditional telecommunications services

Optus’ Australian accounts show $480m loss

Optus filed its own accounts with regulators this week showing its annual loss deepened more than six-fold from a year earlier.

  • Jenny Wiggins

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/company/optus-hnk