General News
23 October, 2025
Customers frustrated by ‘constant’ Optus outages
While it may be momentary, or some longer, people have shown their deep frustration at feeling they are “constantly” being cut off from the world.
HOW many times will residents have to be cut off from civilisation until their phone service improves?
How many near misses on trying to get life-saving care does there have to be before they are no longer that - near misses?
That’s the question on St Arnaud residents’ lips as they try to understand why their phone coverage with Optus keeps getting cut off.
While it may be momentary, or some longer, people have shown their deep frustration at feeling they are “constantly” being cut off from the world.
“It has become a joke,” Sherrie Fujto said.
“I moved back here in August 2024 and Optus has had outages at least six times [since then] that I can remember.”
Dorothy Patton said two days of outages a few weeks ago lead to almost missed surgery for her husband.
“[We feel] quite cut off and vulnerable,” she said.
“The hospital in Bendigo was trying to reach us to reorganise surgery time for the next day.
“Because we didn’t know that we left town very early to be in Bendigo before 9am and my husband fasted for many hours more than necessary.”
Others have called Optus “lousy” and say the outages coming into play to improve the service isn’t making a difference.
“Out in a farming community, they haven’t improved at all,” one person wrote.
“If you break down in a car outside of town or have to call Triple Zero for any kind of emergency... no service.
“You’re totally stuffed and stuck.”
One resident told the NCN Herald their elderly mother was only reachable via walkie talkie because they are “constantly left without any means of communication with the outside world” when Optus is offline.
“[It’s so] I know she is safe,” they said.
A St Arnaud business owner also shared their frustrations, saying running their shop was made more difficult every time an outage came along.
But also had to deal with personal issues at the same time.
“Often times I’ve been on the phone, trying to take down an order and it just cuts off,” they said.
“I’ve also tried three times to have a telehealth appointment and failed everytime.
“It’s very frustrating.”
An Optus spokesperson said they were aware of the “unplanned issues that also impacted service” around St Arnaud.
“Optus understands the importance of reliable connectivity for both residents and businesses in St Arnaud and apologises for service disruptions,” they said.
“As part of our ongoing investment in regional connectivity, Optus recently upgraded the St Arnaud mobile tower to 5G.
“This upgrade is designed to deliver faster speeds and improved coverage for customers in the area.”
They said customers were notified of the planned works ahead of time via SMS.
“While the upgrade was underway, some customers experienced service disruptions.,” the spokesperson said.
“These works are now complete, and there are no further planned upgrades in the area at this time.
The Optus spokesperson said the company “remain committed to enhancing coverage and connectivity for all Australians, including those in regional communities like St Arnaud.”
“Customers in the area are now able to access the full benefits of 5G, and we encourage anyone still experiencing issues to contact our support team,” the spokesperson said.
These local frustrations come after the outage of more than 600 Triple Zero calls at Optus in mid-September was linked with three deaths.
In November 2023 Optus experienced a nationwide outage.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority found Optus failed to provide access to the emergency call service for 2,145 people during the outage.
Optus was fined $12 million for this in 2024, the public was assured it would not happen again.
Read More: St Arnaud