‘Tragic, unacceptable failure’: Optus profits jumps despite triple-0 outage
Thousands of Australians have joined the Optus network over the past three months.
Optus has announced its customer base soared in the months prior to a “tragic, unacceptable failure” that cost three people their lives.
In an earnings update, the telecommunications giant said it had attracted 169,000 more customers during the financial yearuntil September, just days before the company was plagued by a triple-0 outage scandal.
On September 18, hundreds of Australians were unable to make triple-0 calls in a network disruption that turned catastrophic after a barrage of escalating failures.
At the start first half results, the telco giant acknowledged the outage saying it was a “tragic, unacceptable failure and Optus accepts full accountability.”
“As Optus investigates the incident and builds on our response while progressing a sweeping transformation of Optus, we have announced significant changes to strengthen customer focus,” Optus said in a statement.
Part of these sweeping transformation will be an independent review into the business.
The review, led by Kerry Schott, will examine the technical, operational and governance factors that contributed to the outage as well as act as a guide for further improvements.
It is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
At the same time, Optus announced a 27 per cent increase in earnings before interest and taxes to $283m.
