Optus outage hitting Telstra customers

Hundreds more Aussies are struggling to make calls through Telstra, as the nationwide Optus outage continues to wreck havoc.

Telsta prepaid customers are experiencing problems with their service as an influx of customers try to sign up in the wake of the nationwide Optus outage.

The outage, which began shortly after 4am and is impacting around 10 million Australians, has wreaked havoc on businesses, hospitals and transport network.

Now, a new wave of Aussies are experiencing difficulties, with a Telstra spokesman confirming the telco is currently experiencing a “very high” demand to recharge prepaid services.

“You can still recharge by calling #100# and following the prompts,” they told 7News, adding Telstra was looking to “increase capacity to manage the load”.

Over 440 people reported problems making calls with Telstra around 8.20, according to DownDetector.

“I can receive calls but still can’t make them on my mobile,” one person reported.

“Since 7am unable to make/receive calls through my Telstra provider,” said another.

Telsta is impacting a “very high” demand in recharge prepaid services. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

Other providers impacted

Aussies with phone providers that use the Optus network, including Dodo and Aussie Broadband, have also been caught up in the outage.

“We are currently experiencing issues with our upstream mobile network, hosted by Optus,” Aussie Broadband wrote in a post on X on Wednesday morning.

“This means Aussie mobile customers may not be able to make or receive calls or SMS, or use mobile data.”

We are currently experiencing issues with our upstream mobile network, hosted by Optus. This means Aussie mobile customers may not be able to make or receive calls or SMS, or use mobile data. pic.twitter.com/KQIyOMHQTa

— Aussie Broadband (@Aussie_BB) November 7, 2023

Dodo also warned customers “may face issues with calls, texts, and mobile data” while Amaysim said they are “working to restore services as quickly as possible”.

“We understand connectivity is important and apologise for any inconvenience caused,” they wrote on X.

Optus chief executive officer Kelly Bayer Rosmarin told ABC Sydney they were still trying to figure out what had caused the issue.

“We’re still working on it,” she said, shortly before 11am.

When asked if the outage was possibly caused by a hack, she said there was “no indication that is anything to do with spyware at this stage”.

“The teams I’m trying many different angles and we will not rest until the service is back up for our customers.”