SYDNEY — Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells has summoned Singtel for a meeting next week following a fatal outage at its Optus division, The Straits Times reported, citing Bloomberg.

The September 18 disruption, caused by a failed network upgrade, prevented hundreds of customers from reaching emergency services and has been linked to four deaths.

“This remains a constant watch for me,” Wells told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Meeting with Singtel is an important step,” she said on September 25. 

The minister said Optus appeared not to have fully implemented recommendations made after a 2023 outage that affected millions of Australians and led to a A$12 million (RM33 million) fine. 

She added that the company “can expect more significant fines.”

Optus, Australia’s second-largest telecoms provider, contributes about half of Singtel’s total revenue. 

On September 24, Singtel said it has invested more than A$9.3 billion in Optus over the past five years, with much of it going into network infrastructure.

The latest scrutiny also follows a Federal Court ruling that imposed a A$100 million penalty on Optus for unconscionable sales practices, including targeting vulnerable customers.

Optus chief executive Stephen Rue said the company is investigating the September outage, which affected about 480 emergency calls. 

He said the failure occurred during a firewall upgrade when “some normal steps were not followed” and calls were not rerouted as intended.

To assess the causes and the company’s response, Optus has appointed business executive Kerry Schott to lead an independent review. 

The report is expected by year-end and will be released after consideration by the Optus board.

Singtel shares were unchanged at S$4.26 as of 10.22am on September 25. 

The stock has fallen 3.4 per cent so far this week.