Optus customers have criticized Optus for what they have called a ‘token gesture’ after a nationwide blackout left users without phone or internet access for more than 12 hours.
Payments, transportation and healthcare services were thrown into chaos on Wednesday after operations at Australia’s second-largest telecoms company suddenly went down around 4am.
With millions of users affected by the outage, Optus revealed on Thursday that customers on eligible plans would receive 200GB of internet data for their ‘patience’.
The move, announced by Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin in recognition of “customer loyalty… to help during the festive season”, was immediately dismissed.
“They would know that a large percentage of customers retain data every month,” said one user on social media site Reddit. “This is a symbolic gesture that is truly an insult.”
Others called the promised data package a ‘kick in the balls’ and were quick to point out that it had little impact on Optus, saying: ‘Like, isn’t it free for them?’
Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin announced that customers on eligible plans would receive 200GB of data for their ‘patience’ during Wednesday’s outage
‘Completely ridiculous. I’ll make sure this isn’t all I get. I will not be deterred,” said Leanne Helle-Broe.
Gabrielle Higgs added: ‘Pay my bill or I’ll switch.’
Customers have until the end of the year to use the 200GB data packs, while eligible prepaid plans will only get unlimited data on weekends.
In a statement, Optus acknowledged that the outage had come at a ‘busy time’ for many businesses in the run-up to Christmas, by providing them with the same data package.
Technology expert Trevor Long told Today presenter Karl Stefanovic that in doing so the telco “essentially overlooked” the fact that companies were not “big enough” to be on their radar.
“What they have said is that if you have an Optus business manager, you should call them. Most local cafes do not have Optus business managers,” Long said on Friday.
‘They have to admit that the ombudsman and regulators will look at discounts and compensation for companies, and that they will have to keep those receipts.
“They should have made it clear that they understand the financial losses that companies have suffered… The most important thing all the other telecom companies are doing is learning how not to react when they have these problems.”
Customers were unimpressed by the telecom provider’s compensation offer, labeling it as ‘symbolic’ and an ‘insult’
Many small businesses were left behind by the outage, rendering electronic payment systems useless
Among those affected was a Reddit user from Perth who said their IT company had 13 shifts with Optus under a business account when the outage started on Wednesday.
‘The most data we’ve used on it is around 120GB per month across all services. 200GB for an all day outage is a slap in the face,” the user wrote on Friday.
“I’ve just started porting all services to one of our wholesale carriers we do other business with. Optus knows damn well that no one will use that extra data.
‘I already have more than 1 TB of data and I don’t even use 15 percent of it. Extra data has no value to me. What on earth are they offering NBN customers with unlimited usage?’