MSD - 04012021-NSW-E-C-P-NSW THUNDERSTORMS_RUNL

Delay due to severe thunderstorms in New South Wales.

Severe weather with thunderstorms, prolonged lightning strikes and heavy rain within Sydney Metro, Greater Sydney West, coastal areas north to Kempsey and including Tweed Heads and Byron Bay on or about the 4th January 2021.

An interruption to normal operations has occurred leading to delays in installation and repair activities. As many as 18,000 Optus services are impacted in the area bounded by the local government areas of Bayside, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Burwood, Byron, Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, Canada Bay, Parramatta, Sydney, Cumberland, Dungog, Fairfield, Georges River, Hawkesbury, Inner West, Kempsey, Ku-Ring-Gai, Lake Macquarie, Lane Cove, Lithgow, Liverpool, Maitland, Mid-Coast, Mosman, Newcastle, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, Penrith, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Port Stephens, Randwick, Ryde, Singleton, Strathfield, Hunters Hill, Hornsby, The Hills Shire, Tweed, Walgett, Waverley, Willoughby And Woollahra. All suburbs and towns, offshore islands and coastal areas serviced by Optus within these council areas are encompassed in this exemption.

How will this affect you?

Unfortunately, your service may be impacted, 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:

0240001000 to 0240999999 | 0258490000 to 0258507199 | 0272000000 to 0272599999

0243000000 to 0243999999 | 0258510000 to 0258715999 | 0278000000 to 0278199999

0245000000 to 0245899999 | 0259010000 to 0259071999 | 0279000000 to 0283679999

0247000000 to 0247999999 | 0259144000 to 0259562999 | 0283720000 to 0284889999

0249000000 to 0251203999 | 0259600000 to 0259762999 | 0284950000 to 0284959999

0253000000 to 0253592999 | 0260000000 to 0260926999 | 0285040000 to 0286159999

0255000000 to 0255957999 | 0261040000 to 0264989999 | 0286220000 to 0286889999

0256023000 to 0257489999 | 0265000000 to 0266082999 | 0287000000 to 0289379999

0257500000 to 0257951999 | 0266100000 to 0266990999 | 0289550000 to 0295199999

0258019000 to 0258088999 | 0267003000 to 0267595999 | 0295290000 to 0295399999

0258136000 to 0258195999 | 0267701000 to 0268087899 | 0295460000 to 0299999999

0258241000 to 0258303999 | 0268115000 to 0268653999 | 0755060000 to 0756886999

0258311000 to 0258413999 | 0268717000 to 0269990999

We anticipate that the majority of services will be restored or connected by 7^th February 2021. 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 as to the nature of these extreme weather events can be sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). A severe thunderstorm warning which may produce prolonged lightning strikes and heavy rain are referred to in the BOM Severe Weather Warning issued for 4^th January 2021 initially at 3:20 am AEDT Monday, 4^th January 2021, reference number IDN21033; all of which were 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 4 January 2021 to 7 February 2021 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 04012021-NSW-E-C-P-NSW THUNDERSTORMS_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