In the age of today, a single disruption to our phones and internet connections can have far-reaching consequences beyond just one or two missed calls.
The recent Optus outage is a prime example of this. Last week, when Optus services went down, people found themselves unable to call for help during emergencies. Businesses couldn’t process payments. Hospitals, which depend on seamless communication and data transfer, struggled to operate efficiently. And most notably, the entire Melbourne metropolitan train network came to a standstill.
Graeme Hughes, the director of the Business Lab at Griffith University, said it was fortunate from an emergency communication perspective that the outage occurred when it did. “Had the outage occurred a week earlier in the peak of raging bushfires, the impact would have been catastrophic”.
This incident, following on the tail of last year’s major data breach, has left many Optus customers feeling frustrated and concerned.
So, what’s next for affected customers? Let’s explore the options available for seeking compensation and, if you’re still unsatisfied, how you might be able to end your contract with Optus early.
Customers on eligible postpaid mobile SIM and mobile data plans will receive at least 200GB of extra data. If you activate before 31 December 2023, you will receive 100GB per billing cycle for three billing cycles.
Follow these steps to activate:
Your extra data will be applied for three billing cycles and will be added within 15 minutes to 4 hours.
All businesses are unique and have been impacted in different ways. Thus, Optus encourages businesses to contact either their Optus Account Manager or the Optus Business Centre, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
The telecommunications industry ombudsman recommends the following:
If you’re unhappy with Optus’s response, the ombudsman might be able to help you reach a solution.
Customers on eligible Prepaid mobile plans will receive unlimited data on the weekend for the rest of the year. Unlimited data will be applied automatically to eligible prepaid services starting from 18 November. Starts 12.01am Saturday to 11.59pm Sunday.
Unfortunately, this will depend on your plan and device.
You can request to transfer your number to another provider or start afresh with a new sim and number.
If you ask Optus for compensation, part of your claim could be cancelling your contract early without incurring a penalty.
However, most contracts will have a clause saying you need to pay out the remainder of your contract period if you want to terminate it early.
As we navigate the complexities of our increasingly connected world, incidents like these remind us of the need for robust and resilient communication networks.
A good tip moving forward is to use different companies for your phone and internet services. For essential services, it would be wise to have connections with more than one network.
In today’s digital age, scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, crafting schemes that are ever more convincing.
The latest Targeting Scams report by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has revealed Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022.
Think you’ve got what it takes to avoid a scam? Take our quiz and find out!
Pizza Hut, Dymocks, Coles, Optus, and Medibank are just some of the household names that have fallen victim to cyber-attacks within the last year.
Nearly half of Australians were involved in a data breach in the year leading up to March 2023. ASIC chair Joe Longo warns that directors are under regulatory obligations to fortify their organizations against cyber threats and build digital resilience.
Despite record spending on cyber security, Australia is losing more than $33 billion annually to cybercrime. Why? Because while cyber-security efforts are laser-focused on safeguarding data and networks, most cyber-criminals are playing for a different prize – your money.
