Optus invests to protect bushfire-prone communities

Optus is upgrading fire resiliency at 40 mobile base stations across Australia to protect crucial communications ahead of the bushfire season.

Families and residents rely on the network more than ever during emergency incidents, such as bushfires, to remain informed with the latest developments, keep in contact with loved ones  and maintain connections to their communities.

Optus has applied CSIRO research information on local bushfire weather, fuel load, vegetation and topography to identify base stations at greatest risk in a summer that experts predict will pose a high bushfire threat across the country.

The upgrades follow a nation-wide project where Optus and Australia’s national science agency collaborated to help improve bushfire resilience of critical telecommunications.

The improvements will better protect the communications infrastructure against fire and ember attacks by reducing identified hazards and adding radiant heat screening protection. From these efforts, Optus expects the sites’ resilience will typically improve by an order of five to 10 times, based on CSIRO research.

The findings from the valuable insights have been shared with other providers of critical infrastructure and follow recommendations from the 2019/20 Bushfire Inquiry.

Lambo Kanagaratnam, Managing Director of Networks at Optus, said Optus recognises how much communities rely on and value telecommunications during emergencies, so it’s taking a raft of measures to prepare for the warmer months ahead.

“It’s vital we work with the best scientific minds to develop strategies and make significant investments to keep our network running for residents impacted by emergency incidents. Optus network resilience is more critical than ever during disasters like bushfires, floods, and other emergencies.

“Our priority is to provide Australians with reliable access to communication services and do everything we can to ensure our network remains operational should bushfires impact power and access this season,” he said.

Further investments to boost resilience in the network include:

·       Nine next-generation, satellite-powered mobile base stations (SatCats) that are simple to deploy, have high bandwidth and offer 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi connectivity.

·       148 new Yes! Critical Power eXtender (Yes!-CPX) battery solutions that can provide up to 10 to 20 hours of continuous service to mobile sites clusters in the event of a power failure.  Since the CPX was first pioneered by Optus in June 2021, Optus has avoided over 620 extended Site Outages, with over 450 in just the last 12 months as the quantity of CPXs in our network grows proving the merit of this innovation.

·       Eight additional standby power generators to ensure uninterrupted power supply. 

·       Portable fuel pods which can supply additional fuel to generators for up to an additional five days.

·       More than 130 fixed generators have now been installed at our most vulnerable base stations across Australia.

·       Additionally, all Optus Field staff have up-to-date professional training to work within a fire disaster zone with other emergency services agencies.

Media contact:
 Optus Corporate Affairs
 02 9037 8179
 media@optus.com.au

FURTHER DETAIL:

Backup power

Like all mobile networks, Optus infrastructure relies on power. Unfortunately, electricity is frequently impacted during extreme weather events.

Optus has increased its investment in alternate backup energy sources for key sites so, where possible, services can be kept online until power grids are back up and running.

With some infrastructures locations more vulnerable to power outages, Optus has installed more than 130 fixed generators to provide back-up power at some of its network’s most vulnerable base stations. Additional standby generators have also been added to Optus’ emergency fleet which can be transported to base stations as required and when conditions allow.

This year Optus will even be using portable fuel pods to extend power to generator sites for an additional five days, which will allow more people to ring loved ones, call for assistance and access information.

Collaborating to make a difference

In 2021, Optus partnered with Delta Electronics (Australia) under the Eltek brand to invent the Yes! CPX (Critical Power eXtender), a unique-battery solution which can ensure transmission hubs provide dependent downstream mobile sites with an extra 10 to 20 hours of service if the main grid power fails, so that the hub and its dependent sites stay online.

On the success of this initiative, Optus has added another 148 new Yes! CPX, with the network now boasting nearly 600 of the CPX’s nationally.

The sky’s not the limit

Previous disasters have underscored the criticality of having an alternative solution on hand when an entire base station is destroyed, or when conditions make access and repair impossible. During these times, Optus has used satellite powered base stations (SatCats) to re-establish customers communications, positioning them in locations where communities need them the most, like evacuation centres.

SatCats rely on the transmission link to the Optus national network via the Optus-owned geo-stationary satellites in space over Australia, making SatCats suited for even the most remote communities. However, the Optus Field Operation and Satellite Teams recognised enhancements would make existing SatCats even more fit-for-purpose, and they went about developing just that.

Now, nine bespoke next-generation SatCats form part of Optus’ emergency fleet. Each has been designed for nimble deployment and quick set up, with greater customer capacity and 10 times faster speeds than their predecessors.

Similarly, seven Cell On Wheels (COWs) have been developed and can be deployed in scenarios where longer-term infrastructure damage fix periods are expected. COWS use terrestrial fibre and microwave transmission to connect to Optus’s core infrastructure delivering mobile and data service to affected communities.

“Optus continues to push the technology boundaries of what is possible, to ensure that everyone remains connected and with other network features, that we provide a more resilient network in times of emergencies and disasters, which will ensure that we are Australia’s most loved everyday brand with lasting customer relationships,” said Mr Kanagaratnam.

“Whether it is a SatCat, extra standby power generators, the use of the Yes!-CPX battery, or the incredible Optus people working in the field, we are always working to strengthen our network so our customers can rely on it when it is needed most,” Mr Kanagaratnam concluded.