Cable repair puts Telstra back online

HUNDREDS of thousands of residents have been urged not to "panic" after a Telstra blackout left them with no phone, internet, or Triple Zero access everywhere north of Gladstone. Source: AFP

TELSTRA has repaired services affected by a damaged fibre-optic cable in central Queensland.

The damage to the cable at Colosseum, north of Bundaberg, brought down landline, mobile and broadband services across central and northern Queensland.

"Many services are now live and others are expected to come online throughout the evening," the company said in a statement this afternoon.

"As landline services are restored, customers will also regain the ability to reach the triple-zero emergency service."

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Along with the cable north of Bundaberg, a backup cable near Kingaroy, northwest of Brisbane, was also damaged late on Sunday.

That, combined with a number of power blackouts, resulted in the loss of most landline and broadband services in Mackay, Freshwater, Cairns, Rockhampton, Townsville, Mount Isa and Gladstone.

A team of repair technicians arrived in Colosseum by helicopter this morning with more than a kilometre of fibre-optic cable on board to fix the damaged cable.

Meanwhile, another group of technicians reached the damaged cable at Kingaroy and commenced restoration works, Telstra says.

Earlier,

hundreds of thousands of residents have been urged not to "panic" in a Telstra blackout that has left everywhere north of Gladstone with no phone, internet, or Triple Zero access .

It is likely to be days before the nation's biggest carrier, Telstra, can get crews in by helicopter into fix destroyed fibre-optic cable because of severe flooding both on the coastal and back-up inland route.

Authorities urge residents to stay calm and avoid "panic" or "hysteria" with more than half the state off the grid with power blackouts and total communication breakdown under an unprecedented flood crisis.

There has been loss of landline and broadband services in a line everywhere north of Gladstone including Mackay, Cairns, Rockhampton, Townsville, Mount Isa and Weipa.

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Telstra declined to put a figure on the number of customers and businesses affected but it is likely to be in the hundreds of thousands.

In some parts, flights have been grounded and there has been a rush on banks to withdraw cash, get fuel supplies and stock up on food.

Telstra has resorted to using satellite phone and ABC radio to get out the message with reports airports are delaying flights because of the information blackout.

On Friday, Telstra's coastal fibre-optic cable that carries much of the state's communications needs was damaged by severe flooding in the Colosseum area, 370km north-west of Brisbane.

This was followed by further damage to a back-up cable north of Harlin, near Kilcoy late yesterday.

Many 2G, 3G and 4G mobile services throughout Central and Northern Queensland have also been impacted.

"You do feel like you are naked without it," said Brisbane-based Telstra spokeswoman Jane de Gault.

"For so many of us, our mobile phone is our right hand. But we have helicopter and crews on standby ready to go as soon as we can get the all-clear.

"It is a major concern. But the worst thing to do is panic."

The Telstra executive is working from her car because her Bulimba home and George Street office are both without power.

In most cases, customers will not be able to make landline calls outside their region, but may still be able to dial locally. While communications are limited in these areas, Telstra encourages customers with mobile service to use their device in emergency situations only.

Repair crews are flying to Colosseum and Kingaroy by helicopter to repair the cable damage and begin restoring services but efforts are being hampered by heavy weather and flooding.

It is possible it will take days to restore the service given the severity of the flood event.

Overnight, Telstra fibre repair technicians attempted to attend the site of damage affecting the cable 6.7 kilometres north of Harlin, near a river crossing in Kingaroy, but due to extensive flooding were required to turn back 20 kilometres from site.

It should be noted that the emergency triple zero service is impacted by the damage. If customers are unable to reach triple zero, local emergency services such as police, fire and ambulance stations will be in operation and should be contacted directly where possible. Temporary numbers established by emergency services are provided below.

Cairns: 4030 7000
Mareeba: 4030 3340
Townsville: 4750 5581 or 4750 5583
Mt Isa: 4744 1111 or 4744 1808
Mackay: 4968 3530
Gladstone: 4971 3222
Rockhampton: call via alternative carrier only

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-- Peter Michael, North Queensland Correspondent

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