Telstra has apologized to its customers in the Wheatbelt town of Northam, after a scheduled three-day upgrade turned into weeks of poor coverage.
Key points:
- Residents in the Northam say Telstra connection issues in the CBD have stretched on for three weeks
- Telstra says the problems are due to work on a new 4G site and upgrades to an existing base station
- Opposition leader Mia Davies says telecommunications services are not up to scratch across the Wheatbelt
Customers received a text message from the company on October 10 warning of potential impacts to mobile services lasting three days.
Three weeks on, some residents said they were still experiencing issues.
Northam Chamber of Commerce chief executive Melanie Jones was forced to close her CBD office for two days after she and her staff were unable to make phone calls or receive emails.
“We were left without working internet or mobiles, which were both on the 4G network,” she said.
“Today [November 2] has been the first day of it actually relieving pressure.
“We worked from home because we were working towards our deadline for the Northam Advertiser paper… it was a really hard period for us.”
Ms Jones met with Telstra representatives on Wednesday to voice concerns on behalf of local businesses.
“To have my members contacting me and complaining to me saying ‘my machine’s not working, I’ve got no reception, I’ve had to shut my doors’… it was just a nightmare,” she said.
Big impact on business
Robynne Haynes has been a florist in the Northam CBD for more than 20 years and said the last three weeks was the worst service she had seen.
“A lot of people think ‘oh you live in the country, that’s what you should expect’, but I personally don’t think you should,” she said.
Ms Haynes was forced to send customers to the bank for cash, after her EFTPOS machine failed to connect to the network.
“It’s extremely frustrating… I just wish Telstra would get their act together and give us decent internet service in the country.”
Jeff Harris has security cameras at his home in the nearby locality of Clackline, which he checks while he is away through an application on his phone.
He has been unable to access his security system in the past thee weeks due to poor reception.
“I’ve rung Telstra about it and they gave me the standard jargon about resetting and turning the power off and on again but nothing’s helped,” he said.
Mr Harris said he had considered changing providers after years of service issues.
“I’ve been a customer for Telstra for many years… nothing has gotten better. In actual fact it’s gotten worse,” he said.
“I would [change providers] if I had faith in other providers, but … Telstra is the best of a bad bunch.”
Connection ‘not up to scratch’
WA opposition leader and Member for the Central Wheatbelt Mia Davies said connection issues stretched beyond Northam.
“Connectivity in the Wheatbelt in general is not up to scratch,” she said.
“It has a big impact on the ability for businesses to operate, for people who are reliant on it for safety reasons and it’s an inhibitor to attract people to the regions.
“We really need Telstra and all companies to do better in providing a stable service.”
Telstra’s WA regional manager Boyd Brown said issues with the town’s newest 4G site at the Northam Golf Club, as well as upgrades to its local base station, had resulted in extended interruptions.
“This has caused some temporary impacts to local mobile coverage and for that we are sorry,” he said.
“Now work is completed, it will deliver improved coverage, capacity and connectivity for local residents.”
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