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TV StreamingOptus, the second mobile network in Australia and the brand behind the 2023 national outage
Optus is the second-largest telecommunications operator in Australia, with its own mobile network covering most of the population and a large fixed-line broadband business resold over the NBN. Owned by the Singapore-based Singtel group, Optus serves around 10 million mobile customers and around 1 million NBN broadband customers. The brand has been at the centre of two major incidents in recent years: the September 2022 data breach affecting 9.8 million customers and the November 8 2023 national outage that left around 10 million customers without service for most of a working day. The Optus outage map is the first place customers check when their service drops.
- The size of the Optus network and the services it provides
- Why the November 2023 outage and ongoing reliability questions shape the Optus outage profile
- The investments and technologies behind the Optus 5G rollout and resilience plan
- The customer-facing tools, MyOptus app and what to check first when service is down
10 million mobile services and 98.5% population coverage
Optus is owned by Singtel, the Singapore Telecommunications Limited group, since the 2001 acquisition of the Australian operator. It is the second of the three Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Australia alongside Telstra and TPG Telecom (which owns the Vodafone brand).
Key figures for Optus:
- Around 10 million mobile services across consumer, business and wholesale.
- Around 1 million fixed-line broadband connections, mostly resold over the NBN.
- Mobile coverage of around 98.5% of the population on 4G.
- 5G coverage of more than 85% of metro and regional population.
- More than 8,000 mobile sites and an extensive backhaul network.
Several MVNOs including amaysim, Catch Connect, Coles Mobile and Moose Mobile resell access to the Optus mobile network. The Optus 4G and 5G network also carries the original HFC cable that became part of the NBN, with both Optus and NBN Co operating equipment in many of the same exchanges.
The November 8 2023 national outage and recurring reliability questions
Optus has experienced more high-profile outages than any other Australian carrier in recent years. Understanding the patterns helps customers know what to check when their service drops.
The November 2023 national outage
On 8 November 2023, around 10 million mobile customers and 400,000 fixed-line customers lost service for most of a working day. The cause was traced to a routing change that propagated incorrectly through the Optus core network. Triple Zero (000) emergency calls failed for some customers, prompting a federal investigation and the resignation of the CEO. The event remains the largest single telecommunications outage in Australian history.
Mobile network faults
Tower failures, transmission backhaul cuts and core network issues all cause smaller, localised mobile outages. Optus reports these to customers through its Service Status page and the MyOptus app.
NBN-side faults
Most Optus home internet is delivered over the NBN, so faults on the wholesale network cause Optus broadband outages. The fault sits with NBN Co, but the customer support relationship stays with Optus.
Power outages at the address
Home modems, FTTN nodes and HFC equipment rely on local electricity. When the power goes out, Optus internet usually goes with it. Local cell towers also depend on power and can run out of battery backup after a few hours.
Severe weather and natural disasters
Cyclones, storms, floods and bushfires regularly damage Optus cell towers and backhaul fibre. Optus has fewer remote sites than Telstra, so coverage gaps tend to widen in regional Australia when major disasters strike.
5G investment, network resilience after 2023 and emergency response
Following the November 2023 outage and federal scrutiny, Optus has committed to a significant overhaul of network resilience alongside continued 5G expansion.
Optus investment highlights
- Around $1 billion per year of capital expenditure on mobile and fixed networks.
- Post-2023 commitment to redundancy improvements and core network re-architecture.
- 5G coverage expansion across regional towns and major transport corridors.
- Improved disaster recovery: more battery backup, satellite backhaul for remote sites and a partnership with SpaceX for Starlink-based connectivity.
5G expansion
Optus has positioned itself as a strong 5G competitor with mid-band spectrum holdings and a focus on metro and regional capital coverage. The fixed-wireless 5G home internet service is now an alternative to NBN for many customers.
Post-2023 resilience programme
The federal investigation into the November 2023 event triggered new resilience requirements: redundancy in core routing, better change-management processes, mandatory emergency-call failover and clearer customer communications during outages.
Disaster recovery
Optus has invested in Cell on Wheels (COW) units, increased battery backup at vulnerable sites and partnered with SpaceX to use Starlink for backhaul on remote towers during emergencies.
MyOptus app, outage status and the customer toolkit
Optus outage map
Optus publishes a Service Status page that shows known mobile and NBN outages by postcode. Customers can enter their address to see whether a confirmed event is affecting their service and the estimated restoration time.
MyOptus app
The MyOptus app gives mobile access to billing, plan management, troubleshooting and outage notifications. After the November 2023 event, Optus committed to faster and more transparent customer communications during major incidents.
Customer support
Customers can reach Optus support 24/7 by phone on 133 937, through live chat in the MyOptus app, or via social media. Online diagnostics are increasingly automated.
When a power outage causes an Optus outage
Optus mobile and Optus NBN broadband both depend on electricity. Home modems, FTTN/HFC equipment and local cell towers can fail when the local power network goes down. Checking the relevant electricity distributor first often saves a useless support call.
Queensland
South-east Queensland is served by Energex. The rest of Queensland is served by Ergon Energy.
New South Wales
Sydney and the Hunter are served by Ausgrid, Western Sydney by Endeavour Energy, and the rest of NSW by Essential Energy.
Victoria, SA, Tasmania
Eastern Victoria is served by AusNet Services. South Australia is served by SA Power Networks and Tasmania by TasNetworks.
Western Australia
On the South West Interconnected System, Western Power runs the wires and Synergy is the residential retailer.
Optus and its competitors in the Australian mobile and NBN market
For a wider view of how Australia's broadband and mobile market is structured, see the Australian internet outage page. Optus's two main competitors with their own mobile networks are Telstra and TPG, which also owns the Vodafone and iiNet brands. For fixed-line broadband, all four ISPs resell wholesale access from the NBN.