Telstra has sparked anger in the Western Australian town of Hopetoun by shutting down the only mobile tower for seven days during the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show, one of the busiest weeks of the year. The outage, which began last Friday, has left businesses unable to process card payments and visitors without phone coverage.
Cafe owner Simon Flick said he had no coverage since the outage started, and the 24-hour fuel station became unusable. He criticized Telstra for failing to notify half the town, stating, 'About half the town has received a message and the other half haven't, which is crazy.'
Port Hotel owner Shane Lacey received notification the day before the outage. He had to turn away customers during the peak weekend, as his business relies on card payments for 85 per cent of transactions. 'We could only do cash, so it's impacted our business greatly,' he said.
Telstra's WA regional general manager Boyd Brown said the company notified the community via text from September 8 and advised the shire, MPs, and emergency services. He acknowledged the timing was difficult but said the upgrades would improve 4G and prepare for 5G services.
The Shire of Ravensthorpe declined to comment on when it was notified or whether it tried to change the dates. A Telstra spokesperson said compensation would be considered on a case-by-case basis for impacted businesses.
