Dear Valued Customers,

The purpose of this announcement is to notify you of a CSG exemption being claimed by QTelecom as a result of a  series of extreme weather events in Geelong and part of the surrounding Central District of Victoria on or about Wednesday 27 January 2016.

Due to the effect of damage to the Telstra telecommunications network by severe thunderstorms, there has been a significant increase in the number of Telstra services being reported as faulty. As a result, there has been some disruption to service and delays to normal installation and repair activities.

QTelecom apologises to any affected customers.

Information as to the nature of these extreme weather events can be sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM). Heavy rainfall and flash flooding is referred to in the BOM Severe Weather Warning issued for 27 January 2016 initially at 7:55 pm Wednesday, 27 January 2016, reference number IDV65756; all of which were widely reported in the news media after the events.

Telstra has identified that the effect of these circumstances may apply to approximately 1,650 services. Some of these services may not be installed or repaired within Telstra’s standard time frames. The number of possibly affected services may increase or decrease as Telstra assesses the full effect of the extreme weather conditions. Based on current information, the resumption date of Telstra’s normal service operations is expected to be 28 February 2016. This date is indicative only, however, and may be subject to change once the full impact of the extreme weather conditions has been assessed. Telstra regrets any inconvenience caused to customers and thanks them for their patience while this work is being undertaken.

Telstra services encompassed in this exemption are in the area bounded by and including, but not limited to, the area starting at Laverton Creek on Port Phillip Bay following the coastline past Geelong, Queenscliff and Torquay to Aireys Inlet. From Aireys Inlet the area heads northeast to Freshwater Creek, northwest to Wingeel then northeast past Lethbridge and Anakie to Derrimut. The area turns southeast to Brooklyn then southwest back to Laverton Creek on Port Phillip Bay. All suburbs, towns, off shore islands and coastal areas serviced by Telstra within these boundaries are encompassed in this exemption.

Services in the area mentioned above with phone numbers in the following number ranges may have been affected:

03 5220 2000 To 03 5229 9999
03 5240 0000 To 03 5284 9999
03 8311 8300 To 03 8311 8399
03 8327 8800 To 03 8379 7999
03 8698 2800 To 03 8698 2899
03 8734 0000 To 03 8742 9999
03 8754 0000 To 03 8754 9999
03 9206 5100 To 03 9219 4999
03 9235 0000 To 03 9284 2999
03 9296 1000 To 03 9300 5799
03 9315 6000 To 03 9316 4299
03 9340 1200 To 03 9373 4999
03 9392 8200 To 03 9395 9999
03 9680 8700 To 03 9680 8799
03 9731 0000 To 03 9749 9999
03 9922 6000 To 03 9932 3999
03 9974 0000 To 03 9974 9999

As these circumstances were outside of QTelecom’s control, QTelecom is claiming an exemption from compliance with time frames and performance standards required under the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011.

Therefore we are notifying customers that normal installation and repair time frames may not be met during the period from 7 January 2016 to 7 February 2016 inclusive (based on Telstra’s estimated recovery schedule correct at the time of publication of this notice) and, under section 21 of the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011, QTelecom will be exempt from complying with performance standards during this period.

We apologise for the inconvenience.

With thanks,

QTelecom Customer Care Team

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