11-day Telstra outage planned for Dorrigo

UPGRADE works have begun at the Telstra mobile base station that services Dorrigo’s 4G coverage and are expected to continue until the beginning of October.

During this period, the base station will need to be switched off for periods of up to 10 hours a day for work to be completed safely.

The upgrades are intended to improve the mobile site’s capacity, meaning faster downloads, smoother streaming and less congestion.

Telstra said that, while it did its best to deliver planned works as scheduled, there may be occasions where timings or impacts change due.

• The work will not impact NBN, Satellite internet services, PSTN landline services, or mobile coverage from other providers.
• Businesses that use EFTPOS terminals that rely on the Telstra Mobile network should contact their bank or EFTPOS provider to check whether their terminal can connect via nbn or Wi‑Fi. Making this change may allow payments to continue to be processed if mobile service is temporarily disrupted.
• In the event of an emergency, if the Telstra mobile network is unavailable, compatible mobile phones will automatically attempt to connect to Triple Zero (000) via another available mobile network through emergency “camp on”.
• If your first attempt doesn’t connect within around five seconds, hang up and try again immediately. On subsequent attempts, stay on the line for up to 60 seconds to give your phone the best chance to access another available network and connect your call.
• Some medical and personal safety devices, including fall detection systems, in-room monitors, alarm pendants and health monitoring devices, may be impacted if they rely on the Telstra mobile network. Customers who use these devices should contact their service provider or manufacturer to understand any potential impacts and whether alternative connectivity options, such as Wi‑Fi, are available.

Tips for improving connectivity while works are under way

Telstra customers can continue to make calls and send texts during disruption to mobile services by switching on Wi-Fi Calling. This is a free setting on most popular mobile phones and allows your mobile to make and receive mobile calls while connected to Wi-Fi.