Australia fines Singtel-owned Optus over public safety rule breaches

Singapore Telecommunications-owned Australian telecom firm Optus has paid a A$1.5 million (S$1.3 million) fine after the local communications watchdog found large-scale breaches of public safety rules around emergency services, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said on Wednesday (March 6).

An investigation by the ACMA has revealed that about 200,000 Optus mobile customers were left at risk due to the failure of the telecommunications company to upload required customer information to a database used by emergency services between January 2021 and September 2023.

The database, known as the Integrated Public Number Database (IPND), is utilised to send emergency text messages to customers during disasters such as floods, as well as information to local police, fire-brigade and ambulance services.

"While we are not aware of anyone being directly harmed due to the non-compliance in this case, it's alarming that Optus placed so many customers in this position for so long," ACMA member Samantha Yorke said. She added that the local watchdog initiated investigations based indications from a compliance audit that Optus was not uploading data.

An Optus spokesperson said the firm apologises for the incident.

"Optus accepts that proper audits and checks were not in place to ensure IPND obligations were being met for services we supply through our partner brands," the spokesperson said.

The company accepted the watchdog's findings and has agreed to an "Enforceable Undertaking" to complete an independent review of the processes used to manage compliance with IPND obligations.

Australia's No. 2 telco, Optus, experienced an outage in November, which left nearly half the population without internet or cell phone services, prompting investigations and the departure of the CEO.

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