QLD FLOODS OPTUS NETWORK UPDATE - MOBILE SERVICES RESTORED IN THE LOCKYER VALLEY AND MORE PARTS OF IPSWICH

As of 7pm today, whilst there has been some localised impact to the Optus mobile and fixed network, Optus continues to deliver services to the majority of flood affected areas of Queensland and Northern New South Wales.

Due to power outages, services are impacted to varying levels in four main areas: the South Brisbane and CBD; Toowoomba; Ipswich; and Kilcoy. As mains power has now been restored in some flood affected areas we have been able to restore mobile services in the Lockyer Valley as well as more parts of Ipswich.

As power availability improves we expect to restore more services gradually over the next few days. In locations without power, we continue to deploy backup generators to respond to outages where possible.

Optus engineers continue to closely monitor the network in Queensland to minimise any impact on our customers and our priority remains restoring services as quickly as possible.

We thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding.

Brisbane
In Brisbane, Optus continues to experience some disruption to its mobile and fixed network infrastructure in the CBD and South Brisbane areas due to the power outage. This has affected our Brisbane CBD transmission facility, resulting in the loss of some 2G and 3G mobile services in the area and some business services in the CBD. As network capacity has been prioritised for voice calls and SMS, mobile internet data is also slower than normal. There is a coverage overlap in most areas of Brisbane which will mitigate the loss of individual base stations.

Ipswich
In Ipswich, the power outages have impacted some nodes on our HFC network, affecting fixed home phone and internet services to approximately 7,000 residential customers.

Due to the loss of power, two mobile sites in the North Ipswich area remain down. However, two sites have been restored this afternoon and partial coverage is still available supplemented by other towers in the surrounding area.

Toowoomba
In Toowoomba and the surrounding area, Optus has one mobile tower at Gunters Hill that is currently without power after Helidon was restored. However, partial coverage is still available in affected areas, supplemented by towers in the surrounding area.

While Optus equipment at the Toowoomba exchange has not been affected, residential and business customers may experience a disruption to fixed services due to flood damage within their premises.

Lockyer Valley
With power now available in the Lockyer Valley, all mobile sites in the area are operational and services have been restored. Power generators have been deployed as a back up in the event of a further outage.

Kilcoy
Due to the loss of power, the three Optus mobile sites servicing the Kilcoy area have gone down. Subsequently, mobile services in the Kilcoy area are currently unavailable. Optus engineers remain on standby in the area to deploy portable generators once access is possible.

Sydney to Brisbane Links
One of our Sydney to Brisbane links has experienced an optical fibre break in the Helidon area due to the floods. However, all protected services have been switched successfully to our coastal link, so residential and business customers have not been impacted. Optus technicians have identified the fibre damage and are now planning restoration activity.

Clare Gill, General Manager, Government and Corporate Affairs said, “With the restoration of power in some of the flood affected areas we are pleased to see the return of services to the Lockyer Valley and more in Ipswich.

“Our operational efforts are focused on restoring all services as quickly as possible. We continue to deploy additional resources to Queensland from Melbourne and Sydney to ensure the needs of the recovery can be supported.

“Until we are able to gain access to all our affected sites, the full extent of the damage to our infrastructure will not be known. We have assembled a senior management recovery team which is now focused on the recovery effort. Over the coming weeks the team will be planning for reconnecting customers and in the longer term the rebuilding of any damaged infrastructure.

“Optus understands the need for communications services at this time and is committed to returning to normal service levels as quickly as possible.”

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Media contact:
Kasia Ciszak /Joshua Drayton
Optus Corporate Affairs
Tel: (02) 8082 7850