OPTUS NETWORK AND CUSTOMER UPDATE FOR QUEENSLAND FLOODS, 12PM

As of 27 January 2011 at 12pm, the Optus owned fixed residential network in Ipswich was fully restored. Customers with water damage to their premises may remain affected.

Optus fixed line technicians are proactively visiting flood affected residential customers in Brisbane and Ipswich to assess damaged equipment and where possible reconnect customers to the network. Some fixed line business customers in parts of the Brisbane CBD may still experience problems as a result of power outages or water damage.

The Optus Open mobile network in Brisbane has returned to normal service with additional field technicians from interstate helping to repair damaged infrastructure. There is currently only one mobile site unavailable due to water damage and will need to be rebuilt. However services remain unaffected due to coverage overlap from adjoining sites.

Optus continues to use its satellite capability to provide temporary mobile coverage at the evacuation centre in Murphy's Creek and continues to monitor closely the performance of its mobile network throughout Ipswich, Brisbane and Regional Queensland including the Lockyer Valley.

For Optus customers who are awaiting mobile handset repairs or replacements from Optus Insurance, 'yes' Optus Shops in Queensland and selected retailers will be carrying increased stock levels of loan phones to help provide greater access to services. These include:

For a map or directions to any of the above stores, please visit our website www.optus.com.au

Extended hours of operation and increased staffing levels have been implemented across our customer service centres nationally to provide additional assistance for our residential and small business customers and fault and technical support is available 24/7. Customers can contact Optus Customer Care on 133 937, while Small Business customers can contact 133 343.

Media contacts:
Simone Bergholcs/Joshua Drayton
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 8082 7850