Interview with Patricia Karvelas, ABC Radio National Breakfast

PATRICIA KARVELAS, HOST: Optus customers around the country are waking up without mobile and broadband coverage this morning amid a major, major nationwide outage. With more than 10 million customers, the nation's second largest telecommunications provider is racing to identify what's gone wrong. But right now, there seem to be more questions than answers. For more now we're joined in a moment by Michelle Rowland. She will join us to talk about what this - I think we do have her on the line, actually, that's fantastic. That's exactly what I wanted. Michelle Rowland, lovely to have you on the line.



MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Good morning.



KARVELAS: Minister, what's your understanding of what has happened here?



ROWLAND: It's limited at this stage, but it does appear for at least the last four or so hours that both broadband and mobile Optus services have been down. That would indicate potentially a deep network problem and one that is significant. But I do know, having reached out to Optus and sought some advice, there's limited information at this stage, but that Optus is trying to get to the bottom of it. I think what's important here is that consumers be kept updated about progress, what is happening, when there can be some expectation of restoration. I think it's been a very anxious morning for many Australians so far.



KARVELAS: It certainly has. So, you've reached out to Optus, but have you received a call from the CEO of Optus?



ROWLAND: I haven't, but to be honest, I think it's more important for Optus to be communicating with its customers at this stage and I would like to know that Optus is putting every effort into this restoration and communicating with customers. And look, we do understand the way people communicate these days and obtain information is through their communications devices, be it through broadband or their phone services. So, I would urge Optus to utilise other mechanisms, including broadcasting, radio and television, to get these messages out, because I'm out in Quakers Hill this morning and people are asking me questions, they're very anxious and I think as long as people know that something is happening, that people are on the job and they have some expectations, then I think that will allay some concerns that are there right now.



KARVELAS: Has Optus indicated whether this outage could be the result of a cyber attack – are we sure it's not that?



ROWLAND: We don't have any information on that at this stage and I would be reluctant to speculate on that.



KARVELAS: Is there any indication of how long then this sort of issue would take to resolve?



ROWLAND: Not at this stage, but as I said, it does appear, because it appears to be nationwide, affecting broadband services and mobile, it would be a problem that is what we call deep in the network, but certainly one that would require the full resources of Optus to be thrown at it at pace.



KARVELAS: Do we know why it impacted, for instance, the train services in Melbourne, which is having a huge impact, of course, on our second largest city in the country?



ROWLAND: Well, of course, those train services utilise communications networks in order for functions like their signalling. So, that would be, I suspect, one of the reasons why they've been impacted in that way. My understanding also is that there are some services that have been restored, so there may be some sort of what we call redundancy or backup communications that's been enabled in that system. But again, I would be very reluctant to speculate at this stage. I think the focus should be on communicating with customers and letting them know they're on the job and when they can expect to have at least some resolution.



KARVELAS: Optus has put out a statement for customers, but you were saying they should be utilising other methods. Are you worried they're just not communicating enough with their customers, Minister?



ROWLAND: I'm not making a judgement on Optus at this stage. My focus is on the many consumers and businesses, small and large, that are being impacted right now. And I do note that the stable, free, ubiquitous platforms of broadcasting are still there. I know a lot of us do access a lot of our media through our telecommunications devices, but at this stage we should assume that people will require other forms of communication and they should be utilised.



KARVELAS: So, just in terms of the implications, Minister, I mean you’re Communications Minister, what are you concerned about in terms of the range of other services that this could implicate?



ROWLAND: I think there's probably two aspects there. The first is ensuring that there are emergency services available, and my understanding is that Triple Zero access is enabled. But secondly, of course, there are requirements for telcos to meet certain customer standards that's set out in law and regulation. There are mitigating circumstances for that. So, for example, if there is what we call a force majeure event or something that was unforeseen or uncontrollable, but again, this is all really after the fact. I think the more important thing here for me as Minister is to urge Optus to communicate with customers, to keep them updated so they know that they're on the job and they are doing their level best to get this service restored in every way.



KARVELAS: In a statement, Optus says customers can still call Triple Zero, but one customer has told the ABC he was unable to call an ambulance. Are emergency calls still available to your knowledge?



ROWLAND: To my knowledge they are, but that is a concerning piece of information and one that I will follow up as soon as I finish talking to you.



KARVELAS: Yeah, this is the thing. I mean, this is the way we communicate now. And there are safety implications when a big major network like this is down, aren't there Minister?



ROWLAND: There certainly are. And of course, the number one priority is making sure we keep Australian safe. And I will be following that up urgently.



KARVELAS: Minister, I really appreciate your time this morning. I know that you're still trying to find out the basic details here. So, we really appreciate your time.



ROWLAND: Thank you. Take care.



KARVELAS: That's the Federal Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland. Now, I know many of you are very, very frustrated this morning about this. You've been letting us know, we will try and bring you as many answers as we possibly can throughout the morning.