News
26 February, 2025
Telco’s dial a dilemma
Kilcoy residents have spent over two weeks without mobile service, affecting the operations of dozens of local businesses.
Telstra had a planned upgrade, which required the base stations that service Kilcoy to be switched off between February 10 and 19.
However, due to delays, the switch off was extended until February 27.
This comes as Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) released new data showing a surge of nearly 45 per cent in complaints regarding no phone or internet service across the country between October 2024 and December 2024.
Telstra was named as the telco’s top provider.
Some businesses have only had smaller problems, such as the ATM machine not working, while others who rely on bookings to operate, have seen a drastic decrease in business.
Owner of Kilcoy Beauty, Nicole Fraser, said she has closed early several days over the past two weeks, including a full-day closure last Thursday, due to customers not being able to make bookings.
“It’s just been sh*t. It’s the quietest I’ve been in the two years I’ve been here,” she said.
“Most of my customers are retirees and they call or text to book, because they don’t like booking online, and they can’t get through to me.
“On Friday (February 15) I went home early because I had no clients and I didn’t get the messages of the clients who were trying to book in that day until Monday morning.
“When I texted them back Monday before I left for work, I couldn’t get their messages until I was back home, and it makes it look like poor customer service.”
Aside from booking issues, Nicole and another local business, Milby and Co, have not been able to promote their specials and promotions, due to many people not receiving messages or being able to see social media posts.
“I did a microblading special for this week, which is my thing and what I’m famous for, and not a single person wrote me about it because they just didn’t get the notification it was on,” Nicole said.
Amy from Milby and Co has echoed the struggle, adding that they have also had issues with eftpos payments.
“We had an event on the weekend and were going to have a discount special for my girl’s birthday but we can’t get the posts out there, and even if I get them online, customers can’t see them because they don’t have reception,” she said.
Amy has been able to work around payment problems a little, by hotspotting her phone to the machine, but said it’s “very hit and miss”.
Kilcoy Truck, Caravan, Boat, Car Wash had to make a public post apologising to customers for any inconveniences due to payment issues, adding they now updated to a multi-SIM card unit, which allows the card reader to roam between all internet suppliers and signals in the area, searching for the strongest one.
A Telstra spokesperson said they apologise for the unexpected delays, but ensured the community that, once the works are completed, the community “will have a far improved experience”.
“We are upgrading our mobile base stations that service Kilcoy East and Mt Kilcoy to give the community a far better 4G and 5G experience,” they said.
“Unfortunately, we experienced delays lifting a crane into the Kilcoy East site due to wet weather and track access. A further issue troubleshooting the fibre path means we need to extend until February 27.
“We know our customers rely on their connectivity and we’re sorry for the unexpected delays.”
Landline services, satellite services, NBN internet services, and mobile coverage from other providers are not impacted.
Telstra said they have informed customers, local government and stakeholders of the issue, recommending customers to access Wi-Fi and satellite services for Wi-Fi calling in the meantime.
Wi-Fi calling, allows a phone to use Wi-Fi connection to make and receive calls for free, even while a mobile outage occurs.
They also encourage business owners to talk to their bank about connecting their EFTPOS terminals to their NBN or Wi-Fi connection to prevent delays in processing transactions.
