Overview

• Communications Minister Anika Wells ordered the CEOs of Optus, Telstra and TPG to meet in Canberra on Tuesday to detail safeguards for the emergency call system.
• The government will introduce legislation this week to create an independent guardian for the triple-zero network and to mandate real-time outage reporting by carriers.
• Wells’ letter states new rules from 1 November will require carriers to share live outage data with emergency services and the communications regulator.
• An Optus firewall upgrade on 18 September blocked emergency calls across SA, WA, the NT and parts of NSW, with authorities linking three deaths to the disruption.
• ACMA has opened a compliance investigation into Optus and the company has appointed Kerry Schott to lead an independent review, with opposition scrutiny set to intensify in Senate hearings this week.