Is your town next? Residents are fighting back against Telstra's unreliable service
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In a world where reliable communication is essential, some communities are finding themselves in a battle to be heard.
What starts as frustration over basic services can quickly escalate into a fight that draws attention beyond the local level.
Read on to discover why this particular community is standing up and what it could mean for others facing similar struggles.
Residents of Morawa, a small farming town in Western Australia’s Midwest, have indicated they may pursue legal action against Telstra after enduring persistent phone and internet outages for over two months.
A petition, led by Stuart Hion, owner of a local air-conditioning business, has been signed by more than 200 residents who are seeking to hold Telstra accountable for its unreliable coverage.
Hion, who has been in contact with a lawyer regarding the potential class action, stated that while the details of the lawsuit were still being discussed, compensation for losses faced by local businesses could be a focus.
Hion revealed that his company had suffered up to $26,000 in lost income over the past two months due to communication breakdowns. ‘I gave them the quote and they could not get back to me,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t get through to them.’
‘You’ve got to be able to communicate with people,’ Hion added.
The community’s frustration extended to the town’s elderly population, who were particularly vulnerable without reliable mobile service.
‘A lot of them aren’t that well,’ Mr Hion said. ‘They’ve got to have mobile service to ring the doctor, ring the medical centre, and they can’t.’
Hion had initiated the petition on 5 December, aiming to see if at least 100 locals would be willing to join the legal action. In just three days, over 180 people had signed, and that number nearly doubled over the weekend as farmers returned to town from harvesting.
IGA manager Tamika Taylor confirmed the strong community support, citing growing frustration over the phone and internet issues. ‘Customers that use their phone to pay or transfer money, if there’s no reception, they can’t pay for their shopping,’ she said.
‘They’re angry. They should be able to use their phone, there should be reception. Why is there no reception?’
Taylor pointed out that some connectivity problems began as early as February. ‘What is it going to take? For someone to have a serious accident and then die? It needs to be fixed,’ she said.
She also highlighted that residents had no other telecommunications options. ‘We don’t have any other option,’ she said. ‘We’re a small town. We’re forgotten.’
Susan Taylor, another resident, emphasised the financial strain of alternative solutions. While some people had invested in satellite devices, the cost was prohibitive.
‘This is not a rich town,’ Taylor said. ‘People need to be able to afford their communication devices.’
A Telstra spokesperson explained that the most recent outage was due to a hardware fault that required three attempts to fix before being resolved. They noted that a previous outage in late October was caused by a complex issue that needed significant repairs, delayed by weather conditions that restricted access to the site.
‘While we do our absolute best to keep the network running as smoothly as possible, unfortunately when working with technology things can go wrong,’ the spokesperson said.
They also advised that having secondary connections, such as NBN, satellite internet, or landlines, was the best way for customers to remain connected during mobile outages.
‘We always consider compensation on a case-by-case basis, and customers can call us to discuss their individual situation,’ the spokesperson finished.
Despite some restoration of service, Hion indicated that this would not deter him and others from pursuing the class action. ‘At the moment it’s back on, but for how long? That’s what every single person you speak to will say,’ he said.
Shire president Karen Chappel was unavailable for comment on the potential class action but previously expressed her commitment to collaborating with Telstra to resolve the issue.
In a previous story, we explored how a Telstra outage crippled an entire community. Read more about the situation and the responses it has sparked here.
Have you experienced similar issues with your service provider? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below.
What starts as frustration over basic services can quickly escalate into a fight that draws attention beyond the local level.
Read on to discover why this particular community is standing up and what it could mean for others facing similar struggles.
Residents of Morawa, a small farming town in Western Australia’s Midwest, have indicated they may pursue legal action against Telstra after enduring persistent phone and internet outages for over two months.
A petition, led by Stuart Hion, owner of a local air-conditioning business, has been signed by more than 200 residents who are seeking to hold Telstra accountable for its unreliable coverage.
Hion, who has been in contact with a lawyer regarding the potential class action, stated that while the details of the lawsuit were still being discussed, compensation for losses faced by local businesses could be a focus.
Hion revealed that his company had suffered up to $26,000 in lost income over the past two months due to communication breakdowns. ‘I gave them the quote and they could not get back to me,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t get through to them.’
‘You’ve got to be able to communicate with people,’ Hion added.
The community’s frustration extended to the town’s elderly population, who were particularly vulnerable without reliable mobile service.
‘A lot of them aren’t that well,’ Mr Hion said. ‘They’ve got to have mobile service to ring the doctor, ring the medical centre, and they can’t.’
Hion had initiated the petition on 5 December, aiming to see if at least 100 locals would be willing to join the legal action. In just three days, over 180 people had signed, and that number nearly doubled over the weekend as farmers returned to town from harvesting.
IGA manager Tamika Taylor confirmed the strong community support, citing growing frustration over the phone and internet issues. ‘Customers that use their phone to pay or transfer money, if there’s no reception, they can’t pay for their shopping,’ she said.
‘They’re angry. They should be able to use their phone, there should be reception. Why is there no reception?’
Taylor pointed out that some connectivity problems began as early as February. ‘What is it going to take? For someone to have a serious accident and then die? It needs to be fixed,’ she said.
She also highlighted that residents had no other telecommunications options. ‘We don’t have any other option,’ she said. ‘We’re a small town. We’re forgotten.’
Susan Taylor, another resident, emphasised the financial strain of alternative solutions. While some people had invested in satellite devices, the cost was prohibitive.
‘This is not a rich town,’ Taylor said. ‘People need to be able to afford their communication devices.’
A Telstra spokesperson explained that the most recent outage was due to a hardware fault that required three attempts to fix before being resolved. They noted that a previous outage in late October was caused by a complex issue that needed significant repairs, delayed by weather conditions that restricted access to the site.
‘While we do our absolute best to keep the network running as smoothly as possible, unfortunately when working with technology things can go wrong,’ the spokesperson said.
They also advised that having secondary connections, such as NBN, satellite internet, or landlines, was the best way for customers to remain connected during mobile outages.
‘We always consider compensation on a case-by-case basis, and customers can call us to discuss their individual situation,’ the spokesperson finished.
Despite some restoration of service, Hion indicated that this would not deter him and others from pursuing the class action. ‘At the moment it’s back on, but for how long? That’s what every single person you speak to will say,’ he said.
Shire president Karen Chappel was unavailable for comment on the potential class action but previously expressed her commitment to collaborating with Telstra to resolve the issue.
In a previous story, we explored how a Telstra outage crippled an entire community. Read more about the situation and the responses it has sparked here.
Have you experienced similar issues with your service provider? Share your thoughts and stories in the comments below.
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