Optus outage: company’s offer of free data as compensation criticised as ‘hollow gesture’

CEO rules out financial compensation but consumer group chief and small business ombudsman say 200GB offer is token' and inadequate

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Optus's offer of free data to customers and small businesses left without phone or internet services on Wednesday has been labelled inadequate and a hollow gesture" as the industry ombudsman advises Optus may be on the hook for more compensation.

On Thursday, the telco's embattled CEO, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, said the company was deeply sorry" for the outage that took down internet and phone services as well as trains, hospital communications and a range of other services for 14 hours on Wednesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup