SINGAPORE: On October 8, a significant landline outage from Singtel directly impacted emergency services, healthcare institutions, banks, and various businesses across Singapore. This disruption raised alarms as residents were unable to connect with essential services during a critical time.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that calls to emergency numbers 995 and 999 experienced major disruptions. In their swift response, they advised the public to send SMS messages to SCDF at 70995 or SPF at 70999 if they faced challenges reaching these critical lines. “The safety and well-being of the public is our top priority,” they emphasized on social media, assuring the community that updates would follow as the situation progressed.

Singtel alerted its customers to the widespread issue shortly after it began around 3:40 PM. Within ten minutes, more than 2,700 reports of outages related to the provider had surfaced on outage tracking platform, Downdetector, highlighting the scale of the breakdown.

By 5:05 PM, Singtel engineers reported isolation of the problem and announced that recovery measures were in motion, with services progressively restored. Their message included an apology for the inconvenience faced by telecom users, reinforcing that mobile and broadband services remained unaffected during this crisis.

Key Sectors Impacted: Patients and Banking Customers Left to Navigate Alternatives

Healthcare systems reliant on Singtel's Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) faced disruptions as well. SingHealth, which manages numerous hospitals and polyclinics, stated that its telephone appointment lines were rendered temporarily unavailable. They urged patients to utilize the SingHealth Health Buddy app for necessary appointment and billing services, clarifying that clinical services continued unaffected.

Notable institutions such as KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), the National Cancer Centre, and Changi General Hospital (CGH) also reported that their phone lines were down. KKH instructed those needing assistance with appointments to email them directly for help, while CGH offered alternative emergency contact numbers as a stop-gap.

Additionally, Singapore’s major banks—DBS, UOB, and OCBC—were not spared from the chaos. They communicated via social platforms to inform users of ongoing technical issues with their customer hotlines due to the Singtel outage. DBS acknowledged the industry-wide nature of the matter while UOB indicated that intermittent connection challenges were affecting its hotline. Similarly, OCBC reported being unable to answer calls to their customer service lines, leaving many banking customers in distress.

Public services were also affected: The Tanjong Pagar Town Council reported their phone lines were temporarily out, which they attributed to the Singtel outage affecting the East and Central regions. Transport ticketing body, SimplyGo, indicated a break in their hotline, urging commuters to submit inquiries online, exacerbating concerns among travelers.

Meanwhile, NETS, the payment processing provider, cautioned that some transactions might experience difficulties.

As digital channels became the primary mode of communication, users flooded Singtel's social media accounts with complaints, showing frustration over the extensive disruption. One customer expressed urgency, stating, “Please fix this ASAP! We are running a business, and all payment terminals are not working,” illustrating the far-reaching implications of the outage on everyday life and business operations.

With many reliant on these services for both emergencies and essential banking transactions, the call for immediate resolution resonates loudly within the community, leaving many hoping for a swift return to normalcy.