Optus blamed a 'technical failure' on Thursday last week for 624 calls failing to connect to emergency services. Wells said on Sept 22 the Australian Communications and Media Authority was investigating what went wrong last week. — AP
MELBOURNE, Australia: Australia on Sept 22 foreshadowed changes to the country's telecommunications industry after a major company’s failure to connect hundreds of emergency calls last week was linked to four deaths.
Optus, Australia’s second-largest telecom company, blamed a "technical failure” on Thursday last week for 624 calls failing to connect to emergency services. While Americans call "9-1-1” in an emergency, Australians call "0-0-0”. Someone died in four of those Australian emergencies.
