Optus apologises to Russell Island after ‘catastrophic’ four-day delay to repair phone tower

A four-day Optus phone tower failure is being branded as “catastrophic’’ after leaving residents of a bay island with no way to call for an ambulance or firefighters. WATCH as an island resident tries to call triple-0.

Residents of one of the state’s lowest socio-economic communities have been left without access to the triple-0 emergency number for more than four days after an Optus communications tower on a bay island failed this week.

Russell Island resident and Optus mobile phone customer Chris McGregor said he was horrified to find his calls to triple-0 on the weekend were not connecting, days after an Optus tower failed and following destructive storms and power outages on Christmas Eve.

Mr McGregor, a real estate agent on the island, said the lack of access to the vital emergency service put thousands of lives at risk.

The Optus mobile phone tower, which needs repairing, is at the southern end of the island where there is no Telstra communications tower.

He took a video of himself trying to connect to the emergency service — first using a Telstra mobile account and then using an Optus mobile account.

Russell Island real estate agent Chris McGregor’s calls to triple-0 on the weekend did not connect. Picture: Contributed

Both phone accounts failed to connect to the emergency service triple-0 number, with the only Telstra tower on the island at High St, on the northern end, unable to pick up signals from the south.

“We haven’t had Optus mobile service at the southern end of Russell Island since Saturday and it has only been sporadically working since December — it’s catastrophic for anyone who needs an ambulance and a major disaster for businesses,” he said.

“Optus signs on the island say maintenance work is happening until February 3, but that just seems to be a default message which has been used every time the service goes down for long periods — which is every few weeks.

“I know that repair work can be done on the tower remotely, but as far as we know there has been no staff at the site doing any work.

“I live close to the tower but I rarely have internet or phone signal.

“I have followed this up with my provider (Amaysim) but there’s nothing they can do and they have no more information.”

Russell Island, one of the four southern Moreton Bay islands, has an Optus tower at the southern end of the island and a Telstra tower at the northern end. Picture: Google Earth

Optus apologised to the island residents for the fault on Tuesday, two days after it occurred on January 28, saying the recent rain had delayed repairs to the 30m tower in Moreton Outlook.

This week’s four-day Optus tower outage followed nine days of no mobile phone coverage on parts of the island from December 24.

“Optus is aware that some customers in the south of Russell Island are experiencing intermittent loss of mobile service due to a radio fault,” Optus said.

“Technicians have been on site but heavy rainfall has made restoration difficult.

“As soon as it is safe to do so, we will make the necessary repairs.

“Customers should still be able to call triple-0 where there is coverage from other network providers.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and thank our customers for their patience.”

Optus contacted the local Redland City Council to notify the authority of the situation and alert the mayor to the ramifications for those experiencing emergencies.

The communications carrier giant said it also sent out text messages to its island customers who were affected.

But island businessman Shane Rendalls said he had not received the explanatory Optus text and was still unsure of what residents should do in the event of an emergency when triple-0 was not connecting.

Russell Island residents Shane Rendalls and island real estate agent Chris McGregor say failures with the Optus tower puts lives at risk. Picture: Contributed

“We’ve had enough of the promises – we just want internet and phone coverage because it’s dangerous on an island without being able to connect with the mainland,” he said.

“Even though we pay the highest rates in southeast Queensland, we are still treated as second-class citizens and are not eligible for some of the grants and welfare payments that residents in Logan are receiving for their storm damage.

“There are some residents who cannot get a mobile phone signal and others are only getting intermittent power to their businesses and homes.

“It is unbelievable that when the power goes out on the island that the Optus tower only has two hours of battery power.”

The federal Department of Communications said Optus had confirmed that the tower was inoperable and indicated it was working to get it restored.

“Optus has not yet provided us with a time frame for that repair work,” the department said.

LNP candidate for Redlands Rebecca Young inspects some of the damage on Russell Island caused by an electrical storm on Christmas Eve which wiped out power on the island for more than 24 hours. Picture: Facebook

Logan residents are eligible for assistance funding under the Personal Hardship Assistance Scheme and the Essential Services Safety and Reconnection Scheme.

The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, which does not cover the islands, provides one-off financial assistance to eligible residents including those in Logan, who have been affected by the severe storms and rainfall in the southeast.

The welfare payment is $1000 per eligible adult and $400 per eligible child.

Claims can be lodged up until July.

Redland, Logan, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Scenic Rim councils areas are also receiving funding to restore essential public assets.

Recovery grants of up to $75,000 are also available for eligible primary producers in Logan Gold Coast, and Scenic Rim.