Peter Adderton, founder of Boost Mobile, blames Optus’ recent troubles on cultural clashes with Singaporean owners, Singtel.
He calls for a change in ownership, highlighting the cultural gap and advocating for a consumer-focused CEO. Singtel’s handling and the Optus board’s perceived lack of responsibility during crises are questioned.
Singapore netizens are discussing the resignation of Optus CEO amid widespread disruptions in Australia, viewing it as an act of ‘taking full responsibility’ for the outage. However, some are questioning her accountability, considering that Optus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singaporean telecommunications company, Singtel.
A recent report by an Australian media outlet has linked the extensive 16-hour disruption of Optus services to a network operated by Singapore Telecom (Singtel). Interestingly, this is the same network used by Optus for its service provision.
Channelnews, citing a source claiming to be a senior executive from a company closely associated with Optus, reported that Singtel was managing the network at the time of the outage.
After a nationwide outage impacting around 10 million Australians two weeks ago, Optus’ CEO, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, resigned.
The company faced backlash over sluggish responses and poor communication during the outage.
A recent revelation from an Australian media outlet indicates that the prolonged 16-hour outage of Optus services may have been associated with a network managed by Singapore Telecom (Singtel)—the very network Optus relies on for its services.
Allegations suggest that senior Optus network executives, including CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, bore responsibility to shield the Singaporean entity which owns the second largest Australian Telco.
On Monday (21 Aug), Singtel reported a significant 23% net profit decrease in Q1, attributing it to a pivotal event at Bharti Airtel in Nigeria where the naira devalued against the US dollar, alongside increased costs.
Singtel’s Q1 net profit was S$483 million (US$355.91 million), down from S$628 million in the previous year.
As Southeast Asia’s largest telco, Singtel holds a 29.4% stake in India’s Bharti Airtel.