Eastwood businesses crippled in week-long Telstra internet outage

DOZENS of Eastwood businesses have been crippled without internet access for more than a week after contractors for Telstra cut through cables during building work.

Dr Peter Kim at King Nam Surgery in Eastwood, where there has been no internet coverage since last Thursday.

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DOZENS of Eastwood businesses have been crippled without internet access for more than a week after contractors for Telstra cut through cables during building work.

Angry business owners are now demanding compensation for the loss of income and out-of-pocket expenses for mobile internet hot spots to keep operating after the outage last Thursday.

A medical clinic says it has been unable to access patients’ medical records and process online claims.

Telstra says the cut cable in Rowe St has caused the loss of services to 115 customers, most of which are businesses in Eastwood.

Dr Peter Kim, a GP at Kang Nam Surgery, says there has been widespread business disruption on cut-off Rowe St.

“This is not acceptable,” said Dr Kim, who is also a Ryde councillor. “Inside our building there are another 30-40 businesses which are down too. They can’t process payments because most people don’t carry cash now.

“Telstra initially said we’d be reconnected by Tuesday, and then it was yesterday and then today — but the connection is still not back up yet.”

A Telstra spokesman said the cut internet cable on Rowe St had caused a loss of services to 115 customers.

“While the cut cable was not caused by Telstra, we apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers during this time,” he said.

“Any potential claims for compensation will be managed on a case-by-case basis.”

Dr Kim said his surgery would be among those seeking compensation. Others include the nearby S-Mart Korean supermarket, as well as a daily Korean newspaper business.

The Sushi Bay Group’s four different businesses on three floors at the intersection of Rowe St and Blaxland Rd have all been forced to fork out hundreds of dollars for temporary internet access.

The editor of Hanho Korean Daily, Jason Koh, said it was “very bad situation” as “so many businesses are impacted by this outage”.

Disrupted: The newsroom at Hanho Korean Daily in Eastwood.

“We’ve had to buy five wireless modems for the different floors. It’s very inconvenient, and we’ll be claiming compensation from Telstra for this,” Mr Koh said.

A manager at a nearby Korean supermarket said it regained an internet connection yesterday, but that his business was still likely to chase compensation for the week-long disruption.

The Telstra spokesman said the telco expected to have services on Rowe St restored by tomorrow.

“For any customers still experiencing issues beyond today, Telstra encourages people to call 132 200 to report a fault,” he said.