Telstra customers to wait nine days for service restoration: ‘Incredibly frustrating’

In a world where we rely on our mobile devices, a network outage can be more than just an inconvenience. It can disrupt our lives in significant ways.

This is the reality that many Telstra customers are currently grappling with as the telecommunications giant's 4G network experiences widespread and prolonged outages.



A map of the Telstra 4G network, splattered with red blotches, revealed countless 'dead spots' across the country.

Thousands of customers in Sydney's eastern suburbs, including Coogee, Kingsford, and Maroubra, have been left without service and told to wait nine days for the service to be restored.


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Thousands of Telstra customers have been affected by the outage for days. Credit: Shutterstock


The blackout began without warning on 26 February. While some outages listed on Telstra's website indicate a restoration date of March 4, many others are left in the dark with a fix date 'unavailable'.

Telstra said there had been an ‘unplanned service interruption’ and technicians are ‘investigating the cause of a network issue that is affecting the 4G network’.

The fallout has been significant, with customers describing the outages as a 'joke' and 'annoying'.

One customer, who sought help at a Telstra retail store, likened the experience to being in a mobile data 'dead spot'.

‘Telstra shop told me [the 4G mobile data is] estimated to be back by the 4th (of March). Apparently, technicians only started investigating today,’ she said.



One man shared his frustration at being unable to access the internet at home.

‘I have to drive my car until I can find reception and then sit in the driver’s seat doing my uni work and stay out if I want to do any general social media scrolling,’ he complained.

Another customer explained how the outage had severely disadvantaged her work and personal life.

With her local NBN service also down, she was left without internet access at home.

‘It’s incredibly frustrating not having access to the internet through my phone data. Internet services are currently down at my property, and without access to Telstra 4G, I’m unable to come home and prepare for work the next day,’ she said.

‘I’ve had to stay back at work to use the office Wi-Fi or sit in my car on the street to access slow internet for work purposes or to respond to messages from family and friends.’

The outages have also disrupted the usual post-work routines of many customers.

‘It’s not ideal coming home after a hard day of work and can’t I access mobile internet to sit back and relax to watch something on my phone,’ one man said.


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The map revealed the ‘dead spots’ of the Telstra 4G network. Credit: Telstra


In response to the widespread criticism, a spokesperson for Telstra claimed that the map image on its site made the problem look worse than it actually is.

He explained that the shutdown was necessary for vital updates to the network, including the introduction of 5G to Maroubra and its surrounding suburbs.

While the spokesperson did not provide a specific number of affected customers, he suggested that services might be restored earlier than March 4.

‘While we have listed up to seven days for the outage, we will look to do the work as quickly as possible and all things going to plan, expect to have works completed well within this time,’ he said.

‘While there may be some overlapping coverage from our other sites, there will be an impact [on] some mobile services.’



‘On Monday we began doing an upgrade of our key Maroubra base station on Anzac Parade to help bring new 5G coverage to the area. As the works require us to partly rebuild our site and replace a lot of equipment, this means we have to turn off the 3G and 4G network,’ he added.

The spokesperson also claimed it was ‘difficult to estimate the impact to local residents in this part of Sydney.’ However, he also encouraged customers who believe they have a case for compensation to contact Telstra and request a compensation pack.

The Telstra spokesman also confirmed that fixed line and NBN services are not impacted and that Triple Zero calls can still be made.

He encouraged customers with access to a Wi-Fi signal to activate Wi-Fi Calling, a ‘free setting on most popular phones that allow you to make and receive calls and access the internet when you are in range of the modem’.



This situation came after Telstra announced a half-year profit of $1 billion, an increase of 11.5 per cent from the previous year.

Telstra CEO Vicki Brady attributed the company's gains, in part, to acquiring tens of thousands of customers in the wake of the Optus data breach, when nearly 10 million Optus customers’ personal data had been leaked.

‘We would estimate that impact to be maybe in the tens of thousands [of customers]. To be honest, we had a very good December quarter…And in terms of the competitive dynamic, it’s brought front of mind for customers that it’s all about resilience and reliability, whether in our personal lives or our businesses,’ she said.
Key Takeaways
  • Telstra's 4G network experienced widespread and prolonged outages, leaving many customers with no data access.
  • Customers in Sydney's eastern suburbs were particularly impacted, with some advised of a nine-day wait for service restoration.
  • Telstra stated that the shutdown was due to upgrades necessary for the introduction of 5G in the area.
  • Despite the service interruptions, Telstra recently reported a half-year profit increase, partially attributing gains to new customer acquisitions post the Optus data breach.
Have you been affected by the Telstra 4G outage? Let us know in the comments below.
 
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We had a Telstra outage last week due to the bush fires. Not all towns. l got a phone call from my daughter as her sister inlaw was stuck didn’t know how to get back to Melbourne. With her being a doctor didn’t help with no service to help her. To many people rely on service. What happened to using maps.
 
"A map of the Telstra 4G network, splattered with red blotches, revealed countless 'dead spots' across the country."

Wow! Australia stops at the blue mountains now does it? If sydney experiences an inconvenience, that is the whole country experiencing an inconvenience apparently.:ROFLMAO::LOL:😅🤣
Get over yourselves
 
I live in Far East Gippsland Victoria and anyone who has been without Telstra mobile phone connection for 9 days can count themselves lucky.
Our mobile service started to go on the blink mid-November last year, and by mid-December, we had no connection at all.
I contacted, first Telstra which was useless, then my local Federal member, then the Federal Member for Communications and finally the CEO of Telstra.
It's not as though I live in the middle of Australia, we are only 35km from the nearest town.
I have now been allotted a senior Telstra investigator but I am still without a mobile service.
This would be unacceptable to those living in the metro areas so why are we 'rural' people expected to just suck it up whilst still paying the same price for a shonky service.
 
Yes, you would all complain if you didn't have the latest high-speed service on your phone or computer so just wait till the service is upgraded.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: Cie
Yes, you would all complain if you didn't have the latest high-speed service on your phone or computer so just wait till the service is upgraded.
I have every right to complain about the service or rather the lack of service from Telstra. We live in a fire-prone area and half of our land was burned during the Vic fires in 2019-20. We also have a very unreliable electricity service so if this goes down during a fire we are left with nothing for communication. Best not to put everyone in the same basket don't you think?
 
I live in Far East Gippsland Victoria and anyone who has been without Telstra mobile phone connection for 9 days can count themselves lucky.
Our mobile service started to go on the blink mid-November last year, and by mid-December, we had no connection at all.
I contacted, first Telstra which was useless, then my local Federal member, then the Federal Member for Communications and finally the CEO of Telstra.
It's not as though I live in the middle of Australia, we are only 35km from the nearest town.
I have now been allotted a senior Telstra investigator but I am still without a mobile service.
This would be unacceptable to those living in the metro areas so why are we 'rural' people expected to just suck it up whilst still paying the same price for a shonky service.
You should have made the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman complaint line your first stop. I had an issue with Optus with regard to "free data" after last year's major outage. Within an hour, I was contacted by an Optus Senior Customer Service Officer who actually spoke English as his first language.

In less than two hours, the problem was rectified to my satisfaction!
 
Ha ha! Poor little darlings in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs couldn't buy their precious coffee with tap and go.

Lo and behold! The end is nigh!

Suck it up you pretentious princesses! :ROFLMAO:
What a nasty piece of work you are. Obviously never been taught manners
 
  • Haha
Reactions: I'm Mal
You should have made the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman complaint line your first stop. I had an issue with Optus with regard to "free data" after last year's major outage. Within an hour, I was contacted by an Optus Senior Customer Service Officer who actually spoke English as his first language.

In less than two hours, the problem was rectified to my satisfaction!
Should I? If I had received a satisfactory response from the Ombudsman I would have been happy but I didn't, I got shuffled around from one person to another all asking me the same questions. You were lucky or was this due to you living in a metro area?
 
"A map of the Telstra 4G network, splattered with red blotches, revealed countless 'dead spots' across the country."

Wow! Australia stops at the blue mountains now does it? If sydney experiences an inconvenience, that is the whole country experiencing an inconvenience apparently.:ROFLMAO::LOL:😅🤣
Get over yourselves
Try Melbourne! The world's most unlivable city, full of home invasions, shootings, stabbings, carjackings, ice related violence and the almost daily murder.

And the hairbrained powers to be decided to extend the boundaries of the city to include Laverton, making it Australia's most populous city. How petty!

And I live in the damn hovel. :devilish:
 
So now we know it can happen to
Telstra as well as Optus. I stayed with Optus. No problem personally with them at all.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Michelle Sc
I have every right to complain about the service or rather the lack of service from Telstra. We live in a fire-prone area and half of our land was burned during the Vic fires in 2019-20. We also have a very unreliable electricity service so if this goes down during a fire we are left with nothing for communication. Best not to put everyone in the same basket don't you think?
Use a "landline" : the NBN battery pack allows you five hours of telephoning when the electricity doesn't flow. Once again, the old technology of copper wire landlines was more robust although telephone poles could fall down etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Reaper123
Try Melbourne! The world's most unlivable city, full of home invasions, shootings, stabbings, carjackings, ice related violence and the almost daily murder.

And the hairbrained powers to be decided to extend the boundaries of the city to include Laverton, making it Australia's most populous city. How petty!

And I live in the damn hovel. :devilish:
🤣 😅 :LOL: :ROFLMAO: melbourne is a dump. stillbourne more like it. Who'd wanna go there? Most populous? :ROFLMAO:🤣😅:LOL: had to manipulate boundaries and inflate figures to do that.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Veggiepatch

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