Millions of Australians were left without a phone or internet connection on Wednesday after the country’s second-largest telecommunications provider experienced an unexplained nationwide outage. “It is highly unlikely (that the problem started within software in Optus networks), our systems are actually very stable … This is a very, very rare occurrence,” she said. It has wide ramifications across mobile, fixed, and broadband services for Optus customers,” Rowland told reporters. Ramsay Health Care, which owns 70 hospitals and clinics in Australia, its phone services were impacted. “We encourage any customers who need to contact emergency services to use a mobile line to call 000,” Optus said in a statement.

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