Nundle not happy with Telstra tower's backup battery excuse

The company says the backup batteries are designed to last four to six hours, depending on usage, and pointed out the recent blackout in Nundle, which was caused by a lightning strike, lasted eight hours.

However, Nundle residents say they’ve been putting up with the ongoing issue for 18 months, and don’t believe the mobile phone tower’s backup battery is the problem, given they also lose their landline service in blackouts.

Telstra area general manager Mike Marom said while there was nothing to suggest the Nundle tower battery was not operating as designed, a crew would be sent to test the battery to make sure it is working to its maximum capacity.

“Given the latest situation, we’ll review it and, if need be, replace it as part of our ongoing maintenance program,” Mr Marom said.

“Unfortunately, our backup battery generation is around four to six hours – we had lightning and storms that knocked out power for over eight hours.”

Fossickers Tourist Park owner Kim Somerville said Telstra’s excuse didn’t stack up, and Nundle residents were fed up with the situation.

“It sounds like they haven’t looked into it at all,” Ms Somerville said.

“As soon as the power goes out, all our phones are out, including the landline and mobile.”

Ms Somerville said the landline service had been out of action for up to 14 hours after a blackout, which was hurting the town’s small businesses.

“People stop ringing after five hours if no one is answering the phone,” Ms Somerville said.

Mr Marom said Nundle, along with Woolomin, were a “very high priority” for Telstra.

“Particularly during the bush fire season, where those areas are prone to extremes of temperature, fire or other natural disasters, we want to have a robust backup system,” he said.

“So we have an active program of work for all our exchanges to change batteries where necessary.”