Singtel says Optus chief needs more time to fix network and restore trust after outages

Singtel chief executive Yuen Kuan Moon said on 30 September 2025 that Optus’s chief executive Stephen Rue will need more time to repair the troubled Australian telecom carrier after a series of damaging network failures.

Yuen travelled to Sydney to meet with Australian officials following two major outages in less than two weeks that disrupted emergency call services and drew public criticism. He said Rue, appointed 11 months ago, was still in the early stages of implementing significant reforms aimed at improving reliability and governance.

Back-to-back outages raise alarm

The latest disruption on 28 September occurred when a faulty transmission tower south of Sydney cut off emergency call access for about 4,500 people. Optus confirmed that nine calls to the triple-zero network were affected, but said the welfare of those involved had been accounted for.

This followed a 13-hour outage on 18 September, caused by a firewall upgrade error that affected multiple Australian states, including South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and parts of New South Wales.

Authorities have linked three deaths to the earlier outage, while a fourth, involving an infant, was ruled unrelated. The failures renewed public concern about the resilience of national communications infrastructure.

Singtel, the parent company of Optus, is owned by Singapore’s state investment firm, Temasek Holdings.

Minister warns of loss of confidence

Following a meeting with Yuen, Rue and Optus chair John Arthur, Australia’s Communications Minister Annika Wells said the outages had created a “very serious lack of confidence” in Optus’s capacity to deliver essential emergency services.

Wells said the government had asked Singtel to appoint an independent reviewer to hold Optus accountable and ensure reforms were properly implemented. She called the failures “completely unacceptable” and stressed that Australians must be confident their triple-zero services will function at all times.

Calls for accountability and reform

Wells confirmed that both human and technical errors contributed to the 18 September outage but said Optus failed to meet its public obligations. She added that the company could face “significant consequences” once the Australian Communications and Media Authority concludes its ongoing investigation.

Additional penalties or system reforms could follow. The Albanese government also announced it would expedite legislation to appoint a permanent custodian for the triple-zero emergency network — a position that has remained vacant for nearly a year.

Optus leadership under scrutiny

Asked if she retained confidence in Rue, Wells said he “has a lot of work to do”. She urged him to work closely with Singtel to drive systemic change. Rue took over as Optus chief executive in November 2024 after leaving NBN, replacing Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, who resigned in the wake of a 2023 national outage and data breach that disrupted emergency services.

Yuen said Rue had been tasked with leading Optus through a transformation phase and described the latest failures as part of a longer recovery process. He attributed the September incident to “a people issue” and said change would require time and cultural adjustment.

Board expresses cautious support

Optus chair John Arthur said Rue was recruited to tackle long-standing structural issues within the company. He noted that progress had been made but described it as “a work in progress”.

Arthur said the 18 September outage resulted from a “process-related mistake” rather than underinvestment. He emphasised Singtel’s ongoing commitment to the Australian market and said details of continued investment in Optus would be announced in due course.

Record of repeated crises

The latest network disruptions have compounded Optus’s string of high-profile controversies. In 2022, a cyberattack exposed the personal data of millions of customers. The following year, a nationwide outage paralysed mobile networks and emergency services, sparking outrage across the country.

In 2025, Optus was fined A$100 million (US$65.83 million) for sales misconduct, further damaging its corporate image. The company’s repeated failures have prompted critics to question whether it can reliably provide critical communications services.

Singtel’s response and next steps

Yuen publicly apologised for the failures and said Singtel would fully support an independent investigation into Optus’s network and internal processes. He emphasised that the focus must now be on implementing reforms to prevent a recurrence.

“The solution lies in transformation, and Stephen Rue is here to provide it,” Yuen said, noting that cultural and operational renewal within Optus would take time.

Singtel has pledged to cooperate with regulators and the Australian government to strengthen oversight, enhance infrastructure resilience, and rebuild public trust in the Optus brand.