Singtel-owned Optus mobile outage disrupts services for about 120,000 users in Australia

About 120,000 Optus customers across Australia experienced mobile service disruptions on 9 February 2026, according to public broadcaster ABC. The figure marked a reduction from earlier estimates that placed the number of affected users at about 220,000.

Optus, Australia’s second-largest telecommunications company, confirmed that it was aware of the issue and was working to restore services. Customers reported seeing “No Service” or “SOS” messages on their mobile devices.

In a statement published on its official Facebook page, Singtel-owned Optus advised affected customers to restart their phones.

The company said this could help restore service for some users.

“If customers see ‘No Service’ or ‘SOS’ on their device, please restart your phone, to restore your service,” Optus said in the statement. It added that the issue did not affect the ability to make emergency calls.

Optus stressed that customers were still able to contact Triple Zero, Australia’s emergency number. The company said it was actively working with its network partner Ericsson to resolve the disruption.

“We are actively working with our partner Ericsson and have noticed a significant decline in the number of customers impacted,” the company said. No timeframe was provided for full service restoration.

ABC reported that Optus had not clarified the cause of the outage. The broadcaster said the company had yet to explain what triggered the disruption or whether it was related to earlier network problems.

The incident has renewed scrutiny of Optus’ network resilience following a series of service failures in 2025. Those incidents prompted public concern and political criticism over the reliability of critical communications infrastructure.

On 18 September 2025, Optus suffered a major technical failure that disrupted mobile services nationwide. The outage contributed to the deaths of three people who attempted to make emergency calls during the disruption.

According to earlier reports, more than 600 people were unable to reach police, fire and ambulance services during the September 2025 failure. Emergency calls were affected for a significant period.

A fourth death, involving an eight-week-old boy from an Adelaide suburb, was initially linked to the outage. Authorities later deemed this unlikely, as the child’s grandmother had quickly used another mobile phone to reach emergency services.

The September 2025 outage drew strong condemnation from political leaders.

On 30 September 2025, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Optus had “let down the nation”.

Mr Albanese told reporters that the outage represented an “unacceptable failure” by the telecommunications provider. His comments reflected broader public anger over the scale and consequences of the disruption.

The issue also drew attention in Singapore, where Optus’ parent company Singtel is headquartered and where Temasek is a major shareholder.

In an interview with ABC released on 6 October 2025, Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed condolences over the three deaths.

Prime Minister Wong said that while Singapore may be a shareholder through Temasek, it does not interfere in Optus’ commercial operations. He emphasised a longstanding principle of non-intervention in day-to-day business matters.

“As far as Singapore is concerned, while we may be shareholder through Temasek, we have always operated on a very clear cardinal principle that we do not get involved in commercial operations,” PM Wong said. “We do not direct commercial matters.”

About two months after the fatal September 2025 outage, Optus experienced another service disruption on 26 November 2025. That incident affected about 14,000 users, according to earlier reports.