Vandals blamed for Optus outage that hit more than 14,500 customers

Wednesday, 26 November 2025 14:27

The telco said an underground fibre cable was cut at a Telstra pit this morning, impacting regular and emergency calls and mobile data.

Vandals are believed to have caused an outage that affected more than 14,500 Optus customers south of Melbourne today.

The telco said an underground fibre cable was cut at a Telstra pit on the Mornington Peninsula this morning, impacting regular and emergency calls and mobile data in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula areas.

Customers could still dial Triple Zero due to overlapping coverage from other networks.

Vandals are believed to have caused today's Optus' Triple-Zero outage that affected more than 14,500 services.

Triple Zero Victoria confirmed it was not aware of any failed attempts to connect to the emergency line during the outage.

Optus said the issue was resolved by 11.20am.

"We understand the inconvenience this causes and thank customers for their patience," an Optus spokesperson said.

Vandals are believed to have stolen copper from the pit, which damaged Optus' sub-ducts in the process.

The matter has been reported to Victoria Police, who are investigating whether criminal damage, vandalism or copper theft occurred.

"If the outage was caused by a deliberate action, Victoria Police will launch a criminal investigation," a Victoria Police spokesperson said.

Optus has been at the centre of a Senate inquiry after a failure to follow step one of an upgrade process caused a Triple Zero outage that was linked to three deaths in late September.

The telco was criticised for its handling of the incident as it waited almost a day to notify the federal government.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is investigating the first outage, while Optus conducts its own internal review.

Greens Senator and chair of the inquiry into the Triple Zero outage, Sarah Hanson-Young, has today called for an urgent review of the telco's licence.

"Optus has failed the Australian people again," she said in a statement.

"They are clearly not capable of providing this essential service and keeping Australians safe."

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