Why do Telstra and Optus keep having service outages?

July 14, 2026Hosted by: Emma Gillespie and Billi FitzSimonsProduced by: Orla Maher

Last week, millions of Australians were reminded that their phone and data service is only as reliable as one company’s software, when Telstra experienced its third major outage in under a year.

Today, we’ll unpack why these outages keep happening, what regulators want to do about it, and a question that’s been the subject of a decade-long debate: If a telco experiences an outage, why can't your phone jump onto a competitor’s network instead?

Hosts: Emma Gillespie and Billi FitzSimons
Producer: Orla Maher
Video Editor: Rosa Bowden

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