Telstra 'red zones' diminish

In line with receding flood waters in Queensland, Telstra has advised customers that it will now be able to restore broadband, wireless and mobile services in more affected areas.

In an advisory to its wholesale customers, the telco advised that the number of exchange areas deemed too dangerous for Telstra staff to attend — ‘red zones’ — had diminished from 262 yesterday to 222 today.

The number of affected areas in which repair work could proceed in part — ‘amber zones’ — had diminished from 199 yesterday to 194 today.

“A combination of damaged infrastructure and loss of mains power has resulted in outages in many areas of the state,” the customer advisory reads.

“Limited site access due to ongoing flooding means Telstra is unable to advise when service will be restored. We are working to restore services where possible.”

Commenting on the state of services in Brisbane and Ipswich, the company said planned power cuts in the Brisbane CBD had not been experienced at this point in time and Edison, Charlotte and Woolloongabba exchanges remained on AC mains power.

Yesterday the telco advised that its exchanges in Edison, Ipswich and Fortitude Valley have also been identified as being at significant or moderate risk from flooding or power loss at some point during the ordeal.

Some of the repairs that did continue were also fraught with danger, where one Telstra pit west of Mackay uncovering five red-bellied black snakes.

Mobile towers and exchanges at risk of power loss are likely to be put on battery backups to continue services running.

In related news, Energex crews have been working throughout the night restoring power to flood affected properties in southeast Queensland.

A number of banks have advised that many branch and automatic teller machine (ATM) networks remain closed.

Credit Union Australia has also advised that four of its 78 branches remain closed, and customers requiring more than $500 in cash will need to visit a branch.

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