Australia's telecommunications provider, Optus, is facing intense scrutiny and potential "significant consequences" after a widespread outage last week was linked to multiple deaths. The incident left hundreds unable to contact emergency services for 13 hours, sparking public anger and an investigation by the communications regulator.

• At least three people died as a result of the outage, according to Optus CEO Stephen Rue, though authorities are investigating further.
• More than 600 calls to emergency services failed last Thursday, primarily from South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.
• Optus waited 40 hours to inform the public and did not notify regulators until the issue was resolved, a breach of standard practice according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (Acma).
• This is the second major outage for Optus in two years, with the company previously fined over A$12 million ($8 million; £6 million) for a similar incident in 2023.
• Communications Minister Anika Wells stated providers have "no excuse" for emergency call failures, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese suggesting Mr. Rue should consider resigning.