Major Outages and keeping customers updated: new rules for telcos commencing 31 December 2024

On 14 November 2024, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) introduced new industry rules prescribing how and when telecommunications providers must inform the public of major network outages.

The new rules take effect from 31 December 2024.

The Telecommunications (Customer Communications for Outages) Industry Standard 2024 focus on ensuring that telecommunications providers prioritise customer and stakeholder communication during major network disruptions affecting 100,000 or more services for at least 60 minutes.

Who has to comply with the Outage Rules?

Many of the existing rules and industry standards for the telecommunications industry only impose obligations on carriers and CSPs that supply a carriage service to individuals, small business or non-profit organisations. This is not the case for the Outage Rules, which apply broadly to:

• Carriers, whose telecommunications networks are used to supply carriage services to end-users; and
• Carriage Service Providers (CSPs), that supply carriage services to end-users.

When to respond to a “Major Outage”?

A “major outage” is defined as an unplanned adverse event impacting 100,000 or more carriage services or all carriage services within a specific state or territory for over 60 minutes.

Responsibilities of carriers and CSPs to respond to a Major Outage

The Outage Rules differentiate between the obligations of carriers and CSPs, with each having specific responsibilities depending on their role in the network.

The rationale for these requirements stems from the interconnected nature of telecommunications services, where carriers often do not directly engage with end-users, while CSPs lack visibility into network operations.

In summary:

• Carriers must promptly notify other carriers, CSPs and the public as soon as a Major Outage is detected.
• A responsible carrier, being a carrier who detects a Major Outage affecting a telecommunications network that they own, must comply with the same notification obligations as Carriers. In addition, they must notify relevant stakeholders, including the ACMA, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.
• CSPs, in turn, are required to directly notify their end-users as soon as they receive information about an outage from the responsible carrier. CSPs must communicate via accessible channels, such as SMS, email, or apps, to keep affected customers informed.

Compliance with the Outage Rules: Practical measures

Although not mandated by the Outage Rules, upgrading infrastructure to support efficient mass notifications (eg. SMS and email) may be helpful to enable carriers and CSPs meet the notification obligations. These upgrades are particularly crucial given the increased pressure on communication systems during Major Outages.

Carriers and CSPs may face practical challenges in ensuring readiness by 31 December 2024 due to network embargoes during the holiday season, which restrict system upgrades until the end of January 2025. The ACMA acknowledges these constraints, but the legislative timeline remains in place. While no explicit interim measures are outlined in the Outage Rules, carriers and CSPs are expected to make necessary preparations to align with these requirements by the end of the year.

ACMA to introduce further rules in 2025

These reforms directly address the communication gaps highlighted by recent major outages, ensuring carriers and CSPs keep customers informed during network disruptions. The ACMA is set to introduce further rules by 30 April 2025, focusing on local outages (being outages affecting fewer than 100,000 carriage services) and enhancing coverage for incidents caused by natural disasters. In addition, the ACMA has expressed a commitment to introducing further changes including communication of major outages to emergency services organisations.