It means that thousands of Samsung customers across Australia may soon find themselves out of pocket. Optus is having a pretty nasty triple-zero outage of its own, affecting up to 10,000 devices. Unfortunately, the telecommunications company sent a notification of the failure to the wrong email. As a result, millions of customers are still under the impression that there are no negative effects on their mobile devices. This breach has raised acute doubts about Optus’s duty to its consumers. It’s particularly urgent at this moment — 11 specific phone models are required to be fully deprecated, since they cannot connect to emergency services.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had previously raised concerns about Optus’s compliance with its legal obligations. They stress that some models need to be retired within 28 days. Optus must not miss this deadline or it risks being cut off from access to the Telstra network. This follows ACMA’s recent decision to reject a proposed telecommunications industry code from Optus, on the grounds that it would not sufficiently protect community interests.
“The telcos have contracts with customers and those customers pay for a service which includes a triple-zero service for their handsets,” said Federal Emergency Management Minister Kristy McBain.
The turn of events has been condemned from all sides, even by Greens communications spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young. She blamed Optus for prioritizing profits over the safety and security of Australians. She urged the establishment of a Senate inquiry before Christmas, to further probe the matter.
“It has a problem with how it deals with its customers, and it’s time that we review its licence,” Hanson-Young stated.
Optus is at the risk of considerable fines after a yet-to-be-concluded investigation by ACMA into its failure to properly handle the matter. The authority’s decision to reject the proposed code highlights a broader concern about the telecommunications industry’s ability to protect consumers.
In reaction to the crisis, Optus and other telcos have come under fire. Unfortunately, they have not succeeded in producing a proposal that does justice to customer needs. As Optus and its industry peers should know, the onus for replacing all such impacted devices is firmly on their shoulders, stated McBain.
“It’s an issue that the telcos are going to have to address,” McBain remarked.
Despite the chaos, Telstra is doing its part to be there for impacted customers. Now they’re providing other custom options to address specific needs.
“We are providing some customers in vulnerable circumstances with access to a free replacement. Other customers will be offered an affordable alternative,” a Telstra spokesperson said.
Samsung is dedicated to making this process as smooth as possible for customers in need of device replacements. Plus they’ve guaranteed good deals for whoever is in the market for a new phone.
“We will provide an offer to customers who require their devices to be replaced,” a Samsung spokeswoman confirmed.
The landscape is pretty tough for Optus. Freedom of information laws are certainly needed, but Hanson-Young emphasizes the urgent need for a cultural overhaul, demanding systemic changes within the company.
