For more than a week, Optus customers in Copmanhurst, Whiteman Creek, Jackadgery and surrounding areas were unable to make, send, or receive phone calls or text messages, after the network experienced a major outage due to a hardware fault in a nearby tower.

Between February 13 and 21, hundreds of people experienced disruptions to their services while the telecommunications giant addressed the problem, with many venting their frustrations on social media.

But Deputy Captain of the Copmanhurst Rural Fire Service (RFS) Terry Lindenmayer is adamant the inconveniences caused by the major outage had the potential to be extremely serious, even fatal. Mr Lindenmayer and several of his crew members are Optus customers.

And they rely on the network to utilise their ACTIV apps which alert them when emergencies occur and allow them to communicate directly with one another when responding to call outs.

Mr Lindenmayer said while it was very fortunate no serious incidents occurred during the major outage, he said it created a lot of tension, anxiety, and anger amongst the crew.

“The ACTIV app is a critical alert app,” he explained.

“If we (RFS) can’t access any alerts, it affectively prevents us from responding to an incident which could be a life-threatening situation.

“A lot of us didn’t receive any updates from Optus either to inform us of the coverage issues, but we heard some Optus customers did receive updates.”

Mr Lindenmayer said he and the Captain of the Copmanhurst RFS Eddie Newbery forwarded a complaint to the Fire Control Centre regarding the major outage but were told nothing could be done until services were restored.

“I know we rely on technology, but this just isn’t good enough, especially given the length of time services were impacted,” he said.

“What other back up options are available when we’re talking about the implications on emergency services?” Todd Ensbey has lived in Copmanhurst for 16 years and has been an Optus customer for “roughly eleven or twelve” of those years.

He revealed he also did not receive any updates from Optus informing him of the major outage and had no phone or internet connectivity for over a week.

When contacted by the Clarence Valley Independent, Optus provided the following statement: “Optus is committed to keeping our customers connected by providing the highest possible coverage across our network,” a spokesperson said.

“We are aware that some Optus customers in Copmanhurst have experienced network coverage disruptions due to a hardware fault.

“This issue took some time to repair due to access issues and part availability.

“It has since been resolved with services now operating as normal.

“We apologise to impacted customers.

This article appeared in the Clarence Valley Independent, 1 March 2023.