Mystery Optus mobile glitch impacts over 100,000 users

Optus is still trying to determine the cause of a mobile service outage that is understood to have impacted over 100,000 customers.

An Optus spokesperson told iTnews that the carrier was aware of an issue affecting “some” of its customers.

The spokesperson repeated advice the Optus gave to customers on its Facebook page late this afternoon instructing them on how to rectify the issue and restore service to their handset.

“We are aware of an issue affecting mobile services for some Optus customers," the spokesperson said.

"If customers see ‘No Service’ or ‘SOS’ on their device, they are advised to restart their phone, to restore service."

Earlier reports of the issue placed the number of customers affected at 220,000 Optus customers.

However, sources close to the matter said that its impact was more limited, only affecting around 115,000 of the carrier’s mobile subscribers and decreasing.

At this stage the outage does not appear to be confined to any particular subset of Optus customers such as to those in a geographic area, nor does it appear to be limited to users of a particular model or brand of handset.

The only clue is that it's most likely related to a network equipment issue.

This is consistent with user reports on social media, which stated that the same issue previously occurred over the weekend, which could indicate multiple attempts at a software change.

“We are actively working with our partner Ericsson and have noticed a significant decline in the number of customers impacted,” Optus spokesperson said.

With a parliamentary inquiry into Triple Zero service underway, in part triggered by major Optus network outage last September and linked to two fatalities, the carrier assured customers that the issue did not impact their ability to make emergency calls.

The Triple Zero inquiry committee was expected to report its findings this week but the date has been pushed back to March 30 at the request of its chair Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

It’s understood that more hearings are expected to take place before the reporting date.