A major Optus outage has hit hospitals, including emergency departments, as millions of customers report issues with the network.
Reports shared on social media indicate the outage is affecting mobile customers from Far North Queensland through to Melbourne, Sydney and across to Perth.
Optus Mobile customers are reporting their phones showing SOS on the signal indicator, which is a sign that your regular network is down, but that your phone has access to alternate networks in the event of an emergency call.
9News.com.au can also confirm there are reports from Optus Home Broadband customers that their NBN connections are down, potentially indicating a deeper issue within the Optus network.
Optus has been contacted for comment but is unable to share any details at this stage.
The Department of Home Affairs has said there is no indication the black-out is the result of a cyber-security attack.
Melbourne’s Northern Health district said on Facebook that all phone lines into its hospital campuses had been affected.
“This includes phone lines into Northern Hospital Epping, Broadmeadows Hospital, Bundoora Centre, Craigieburn Centre, Kilmore District Hospital, and Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED),” they wrote.
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“We apologise for any inconvenience.”
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The network has messaged concerned customers.
“We’re aware of an issue impacting connections for some Optus customers,” it said.
“We understand connectivity is important and are working to restore services as a priority.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused while we have the issue resolved.”
