MSD - 02012020 VIC SBP VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES RUNL

Delay due to fire in East Gippsland and parts of West and South Gippsland and North East districts of Victoria, and the South Coast, Snowy Mountains and South West Slopes districts of New South Wales.

East Gippsland and parts of West and South Gippsland and North East districts of Victoria, and the South Coast, Snowy Mountains and South West Slopes districts of New South Wales have been impacted by bushfires from November 2019 are ongoing as at January 2020. These events have resulted in extensive damage to the telecommunications network. In some cases, unsafe conditions and road closures are preventing us from reaching these locations but we will attend as soon as these areas are deemed safe.

As a result, an interruption to Optus normal operations has occurred leading to delays in installation and repair activities. As many as 225 Optus services are impacted in the following multiple geographic areas bounded by and including, but not limited to, the area starting at Tilba Tilba, the area then travels south following the coast line crossing the NSW/VIC border to Mallacoota, and continues past Lakes Entrance to Flamingo Beach. At Flamingo Beach the area turns northwest past East Sale, Myrtlebank, Walhalla to Icy Creek. At Icy Creek, the area continues northwest to Eildon and north to Bonnie Doon, then northeast past Swanpool, Glenrowan onto Tallangatta. Continuing northwest from Tallangatta to Talgarno and crossing the VIC/NSW border to Woomargama and onto Rosewood. At Rosewood, the area travels north to Tarcutta, northwest to Tumblong, then southeast past Bombowlee to Shannons Flat. At Shannons Flat the area heads southwest to Numbla Vale, turns southeast to Ando, northwest to Cooma, north to Bumbalong, then southeast to Jinden, east to Moruya, then following the coastline south returning to Tilba Tilba. All suburbs and towns, off shore islands and coastal areas serviced by Optus within these boundaries are encompassed in this exemption.

How will this affect you?

Unfortunately, your service may be affected and we may take longer than normal to fix telephone services or complete connections. Services in the area mentioned above with phone numbers in the following number ranges may have been affected: 

0259090000 to 0259090999 | 0351390000 to 0351799999

0260211100 to 0260779999 | 0351982000 to 0351992999

0260870000 to 0260879999 | 0357206000 to 0357338999

0264270000 to 0264272999 | 0357492000 to 0357495999

0264480000 to 0264598999 | 0357501000 to 0357599999

0264910000 to 0264999999 | 0357716000 to 0357791999

0269400000 to 0269493999 | 0357910000 to 0357919999

0269822000 to 0269827999 | 0357983000 to 0357983999

0351381000 to 0351381999 

We anticipate that the majority of services will be restored by 2 February 2020. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this delay may cause but we can assure you we are working hard to get things back on track.

What else do you need to know?

Information about current fires and incidents can be sourced from the VIC Emergency and NSW Rural Fire Service internet sites at https://www.emergency.vic.gov.au and https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/. Additional information about the nature of these events can be sourced from Early Warning Network at http://www.ewn.com.au/alerts/. This information was also widely reported in the news media after the events.

Due to this event, we’re claiming an exemption under section 21 of the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011, including an exemption from the payment of compensation between 20 December 2019 to 2 February 2020 inclusive for any delays in fixing or connecting services, and the keeping of appointments relating to these activities in the impacted area.

Need more information?

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility for a CSG payment under this notice, or wish to have us reconsider whether the circumstances were a proper basis for claiming an exemption, you can contact Optus on 13 39 37– quoting CSG exemption reference number 02012020-VIC-S-B-P-VICTORIAN BUSHFIRES_RUNL

You can also view a copy of this notice on our Internet site www.optus.com.au/msd

If, after calling Optus on the above number, you remain unsatisfied with our response to your query, you have the option of raising the matter with the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO).  Information on the TIO and contact details are available on the Internet (www.tio.com.au) and in the White Pages® telephone directory.