TELSTRA EXCHANGE Site Closure due to Occupational Hazard and Safety
During the month of July and August a number of Telstra Telephone Exchanges across the greater Sydney area has experienced break-ins. According to Telstra, all exchange sites are currently operational however some of these exchanges have suffered damage to critical electrical equipment. The affected exchanges will be either closed, or have access restricted to all Telstra staff, contractors and Wholesale customers until inspections have been completed and any safety issues are resolved.
The latest update from Telstra indicated 59 exchanges are affected and most are accessible now however due to tightened security measures; the number of technicians allowed to perform work within the exchange is limited.
How does it affect TPG and its customers?
TPG uses Telstra Wholesale copper lines to deliver its ADSL bundled services. This means when we connect customers, we use the Telstra technicians to perform work inside the Telephone exchange.
Due to the restricted access to some exchanges, some customers may experience delays in service activations and service restoration.
Why is site closure necessary?
Site closure is necessary due to:
- Safety – due to vandalism of these sites, damage incurred includes leaving electrical equipment and wires exposed putting anyone accessing these facilities in risk.
- Security – it is expected for Telstra and the authorities to ensure that these sites are secured, most especially while a police investigation is on-going.
What is TPG doing to assist its customers?
The TPG support teams are working closely with the Telstra Wholesale support teams to minimize the impact on our customers and perform the field work as quick as possible.
We remain in daily communication with the Telstra Wholesale management team and are seeing services getting installed accordingly.
Once we are aware a service install of a fault is overdue, we liaise with Telstra Wholesale to get it activated as soon as possible and will remain in contact with our customers.
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