Greg and Anne Pietsch, aged 69 and 64, who have lived on their property - only about an hour out of Darwin - for nearly two decades, are among those affected.

Their landline and mobile reception issues have become a daily struggle, with Greg describing their mobile phone reception as “limited” and only available from specific spots on their property.

“Last week the Ombudsman got back to me and said someone is looking into it and they don’t understand why SkyMesh hadn’t been down to look at the problem,” Mr Pietsch said.

“We can’t talk on the mobile in the house…since they shut down 3G it’s gotten worse.”

Their communication troubles extend beyond personal inconvenience.

The Pietschs’ situation is further complicated by missed medical appointments due to their unreliable landline.

Mr Pietsch recounted an instance where he missed a crucial sleep apnea test appointment because his phone wasn’t working to receive the doctor’s call.

“We’ve always had issues with the landline in the wet season, but the mobile with 3G was more reliable,” said Mr Pietsch.

“Now, we can’t even rely on that, and it’s worrying. If something happens, like a snake bite or injury, we might not be able to call for help.”

The Pietschs are not alone in their frustrations.

Neighbours, including cattle grazier Tom Langley, who is in his 60s, are experiencing similar difficulties.

Mr Langley has been waiting for Telstra to install a mobile tower in the area, but his hope has yet to be fulfilled.

His landline has also been down for more than two weeks.

“I’ve tried to contact Telstra on several occasions in the past fortnight but when I call, I’m on hold for over an hour each time,” Mr Langley said.

“Our complaints about the landlines not working are not being taken seriously.”

The ongoing issue has forced many in the area to rely on SkyMesh, a Telstra wholesale provider, for phone and internet services, yet their experiences have been less than satisfactory.

“It’s a nightmare,” Mr Pietsch said, explaining the difficult back-and-forth between Telstra and SkyMesh, with neither taking full responsibility for resolving the problem.

“I get stuck in a loop… I contact Telstra, and they tell me to contact SkyMesh, and vice versa.”

SkyMesh confirmed while it was responsible for raising landline faults, the responsibility for repairs fell on Telstra Wholesale—a separate entity from Telstra Retail.

“Telstra Wholesale are still responsible for every PSTN landline that we service, and so any fault that we raise goes directly to them,” a SkyMesh spokesperson said.

“We are not responsible for the repairs or have any visibility of the specific work carried out.”

The spokesperson also acknowledged landline issues were common in regional and rural Australia as infrastructure aged.

For those facing prolonged outages, SkyMesh suggested moving to a VoIP (internet-based) phone service, though they noted this could have drawbacks in rural areas, particularly where internet reliability was an issue.

SkyMesh also advised customers requiring Priority Assistance, which provides faster fault resolution for those with medical or safety concerns, would need to seek a provider that offered it, such as Telstra Retail.

Despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue, including repairs promised for March 19, 2025, the Pietschs’ landline continues to malfunction.

SkyMesh’s responses have included a “goodwill credit of $22.96” for the inconvenience, but that has done little to alleviate their concerns.

The situation has prompted the Pietschs to escalate the matter to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, with Ombudsman Cynthia Gebert acknowledging the hardship of phone and internet outages in rural areas, especially when they hindered access to essential services such as medical assistance.

“Phone and internet outages can make life tough for all of us, and more so when you live rurally,” Ms Gebert said.

“We prioritise complaints where there is an urgent medical or safety risk.”

In the meantime, the Pietschs continue to live in uncertainty, knowing their access to communication could be vital in a crisis.

With Telstra holding a near-monopoly over communications infrastructure in the area, the lack of reliable service is not only a frustration but also a serious safety concern for residents who rely on it for business, health, and emergency needs.

For now, the Pietsches and their neighbours remain hopeful their complaints will lead to a resolution.

“It’s worrisome. We can’t even call for help in some situations,” Mr Pietsch said.

A Telstra spokesperson said as the Pietsches were not a direct retail customers of Telstra, the company relied on their provider to manage faults and report these to Telstra, however confirmed on Monday the issues had been resolved. 

"When we were notified, we visited the site multiple times and made a number of repairs," the Telstra spokesperson said. 

"Due to some land access issues we were unable to reach some of our own infrastructure - these were resolved on 1 April.

"We believe the customer's service should be working now and we'll confirm with their provider. There are a range of technology types that can be used to deliver a landline service and it's possible this customer may benefit from transitioning to a newer more reliable technology type, working with their provider."