A Senate inquiry into the fatal Optus outage has today underscored a deep tension within a telco that is expected to act to according to public interest and safety, while its primary responsibility is to its shareholders and its Board to whom it reports. It has also revealed a light-touch regulator who has been asleep at the wheel by tacitly accepting that telcos are responsible for public safety, while not actively pursuing serious public safety issues when they are alerted to them, says peak communications consumer group ACCAN.
Today's Senate inquiry was an important opportunity to hear directly from Optus and the regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) about the September Triple Zero outage and related systemic Triple Zero issues.
Appearing before the inquiry this morning, Optus executives defended an almost 18-hour delay between when the company first became aware of a death linked to the outage and when it notified the federal regulator ACMA.
The delay points to a corporate culture that holds its customers and the ACMA in low regard and shirks public accountability and transparency.
ACCAN CEO Carol Bennett said that the failure of Optus to brief the ACMA on critical developments regarding the outage is unsurprising.
"It has been clear for some time that industry views the ACMA as a paper tiger, with the consequences of appalling behaviour more likely to be a letter than actual action," Ms Bennett said.
"The failure of the ACMA to take action to confirm the accuracy of the information provided by Optus is extremely concerning."
Today's inquiry further revealed that the regulator, despite holding suspicions that the information initially provided to them was 'odd', they did nothing to verify the accuracy of the information for an entire day.
While the regulator is defending its inaction on the basis that Optus had told them the outage was resolved, it has admitted that it had concerns about the accuracy of the information that Optus had provided.
"The lack of action of by the regulator paints a troubling picture of a dysfunctional culture within the ACMA, characterised by an undue reliance on industry to oversight itself and a bureaucratic disconnect from a fundamental role of government – keeping the public safe."
"The public expects clear rules and regulations for private sector companies providing services which underpin public safety," said Ms Bennett.
"The public also expect there is a regulator on the beat to enforce these rules and hold them to account when they fail catastrophically, like in this instance."
"When future outages occur – and that will be when, not if – ACCAN expects telcos to show the same speed in communicating to the regulator and emergency services as they do in briefing their company boards."
"The disconnect between what was shared internally and what was shared with authorities is unacceptable," Ms Bennett said.
ACCAN welcomes the passage of legislation to establish a Triple Zero Custodian, alongside broader reforms to strengthen the Triple Zero system. These are important steps forward for consumers.
However, today's Senate hearing has once again raised significant concerns about the competence of the ACMA. We are optimistic that this inquiry will get to the bottom of the systemic failures, including ACMA's powers as the communications regulator and its role in protecting the public interest.
About us:
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) is Australia's peak communication consumer organisation. The operation of ACCAN is made possible by funding provided by the Commonwealth of Australia under section 593 of the Telecommunications Act 1997. This funding is recovered from charges on telecommunications carriers.
