Aussie gamers looking to do literally anything online today, if you’re with Optus, looks like you’re gonna have to touch grass for a bit instead – the major internet and mobile provider is experiencing a massive outage across the country.
About 10 million customers have been affected, according to Optus, with 400,000 businesses impacted as well. The Optus outages are stretching from Far North Queensland through to Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth.
Optus Mobile users are waking up to discover that rage-inducing ‘SOS only’ signal indicator on phones – this means the regular network is down, but you’ll still be able to access alternative networks in case of an emergency call.
Optus Home Broadband customers are reporting NBN connection issues, which is the main rub anyone wanting to do anything gaming-related online will likely be pressed about. Linked network providers including Amaysim and Dodo appear to also be impacted by the Optus outage.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, speaking to 2GB radio, says Optus was facing a “deep and significant problem” causing customers across the country to experience a “very frustrating morning.”
In a statement, Optus said it was “working to identify the cause” of the outages, with engineers investigating a network fault. “Optus is aware of an issue that may be impacting some of our mobile and internet customers,” the company told news outlets. “We are currently working to identify the cause and apologise for any inconvenience. In case of an emergency, customers can still call 000.”
If you’re looking to update Fortnite, jump onto a game of League, or doomscroll through the Steam sales category, we’d suggest trying to go outside for a few hours instead – maybe the fresh air will do us all good in the meantime. Alternatively, you could also screech into the void, or like me, LARP being in the start of an apocalypse if you’d like to practice theatrics.
We’ll update this piece as more information comes through – and if you’re with Telstra or not experiencing network issues currently, just know I, as a chronically online person, am very jealous right now.
Lead Image Credit: Kotaku Australia