When a major mobile network outage occurs, public attention quickly turns to the telecommunications providers. But according to Madison Connectivity General Manager Larry O'Toole, the bigger issue isn't that networks occasionally fail - it's how dependent Australia has become on services that were never designed to be infallible.
In a recently published opinion piece, O'Toole argues that while network outages deserve scrutiny, the public debate often overlooks a broader issue: resilience.
"Important is not the same as guaranteed. Convenient is not the same as resilient," he writes.
It's a timely observation. Mobile connectivity now underpins everything from digital payments and logistics to building access, authentication and business operations. As connectivity becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, expectations have risen alongside it.
However, O'Toole believes those expectations are frequently disconnected from the engineering reality of operating nationwide mobile networks.
"Mobile networks are high-availability commercial systems delivered on a best-efforts basis. They are built to be robust, not miraculous."
Rather than viewing every outage solely as a telecommunications failure, he suggests businesses should also consider whether they have become overly reliant on a single communications channel.
"If a business cannot function for even a short period without mobile coverage, that is not just a telco story," O'Toole writes. "It is a business continuity failure."
Resilience is a Shared Responsibility
One of the central themes of O'Toole's article is that resilience extends well beyond the network operators themselves.
He argues that while carriers should continue investing in network reliability, businesses, technology vendors, governments and even individual users all have a role to play in planning for inevitable disruptions.
Complex infrastructure systems - including electricity networks, cloud platforms, banking systems and transport networks - occasionally experience outages despite significant investment in resilience.
Mobile networks, he argues, should not be viewed differently.
Instead, organisations should ask practical questions:
- What happens if mobile coverage is unavailable for an hour?
- Which critical business processes stop?
- Are there alternative communication methods?
- Have unnecessary single points of failure been introduced?
These, he says, are business continuity questions as much as telecommunications questions.
Looking Beyond the Headlines
O'Toole also challenges the way major outages are often reported, suggesting that public discussion frequently focuses on assigning blame rather than understanding how complex infrastructure actually operates.
He believes the industry would benefit from a more informed conversation around engineering trade-offs, resilience planning and shared responsibility.
That conversation also extends to public policy.
Australia's proposed Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) aims to improve baseline outdoor mobile coverage across the country. While O'Toole supports improving connectivity, he warns that policy settings should avoid creating expectations that no technology can realistically meet.
He also highlights an interesting contradiction.
Although industry estimates suggest that more than 80% of mobile traffic originates indoors, current policy discussions remain largely focused on outdoor coverage.
It's a reminder that as Australia continues to expand its digital infrastructure, discussions around connectivity should focus not only on availability, but also on how networks are actually used.
Planning for the Inevitable
Ultimately, O'Toole's message is not that network outages are acceptable, but that resilience comes from recognising that even the best-engineered systems can occasionally fail.
Rather than expecting uninterrupted connectivity at all times, he encourages organisations to build contingency planning into their operations.
As he concludes:
"A serious society does not demand that complex systems never fail. It plans for the day they do."
Whether readers agree with every aspect of his argument or not, O'Toole's article raises important questions about Australia's growing dependence on mobile connectivity and whether the conversation around outages should move beyond blame to focus on preparedness, resilience and realistic expectations.
Read the full opinion letter.
