Dear Valued Customers,
As previously notified by QTelecom on Thursday 14 January 2016, QTelecom’s normal operations in the Hunter and Central Tablelands Districts of New South Wales were affected by a series of severe weather events on or about Monday 4 January 2016 through to Wednesday 6 January 2016. QTelecom’s telecommunications network in these areas have experienced high levels of damage that resulted in delays to installation and repair activities on a significant number of QTelecom services.
Due to the extent of damage to the QTelecom network, the impact in the affected region has been greater than initially estimated, and as a consequence of the continued weather effects, the expected recovery date has now been extended to 27 March 2016.
QTelecom has identified that the effect of these circumstances applies to an additional 6,600 services bringing the total number of services impacted to approximately 14,000 services. This number may increase as QTelecom assesses the full affect of the severe weather conditions. Based on current information, the resumption date of normal service operations is expected to be 27 March 2016. This date is indicative only; QTelecom customers should anticipate that some further delays may occur.
QTelecom regrets any inconvenience caused to customers and thanks them for their patience while this work is being undertaken.
QTelecom services encompassed in this exemption are in the area bounded by and including, but is not limited to, the area starting at Crowdy Head then following the NSW coast southwest past Forster, Nelson Bay, Newcastle, The Entrance to Patonga. From Patonga the area heads southwest to Galston, west to Londonderry, northwest past Mt Wilson to Glen Davis then north to Coulsons Creek. From Coulsons Creek the area heads northeast past Ellerston to Elands then southeast back to Crowdy Head. All suburbs and towns, off shore islands and coastal areas serviced by QTelecom 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:
02 4014 0500 To 02 4015 9999
02 4028 1000 To 02 4042 1999
02 4320 0000 To 02 4399 8199
02 4560 0000 To 02 4588 9999
02 4902 0000 To 02 4999 9999
02 5556 0000 To 02 5556 4999
02 5594 5000 To 02 5594 5999
02 6520 1000 To 02 6526 9999
02 6537 0000 To 02 6559 3999
02 6570 2100 To 02 6579 7999
02 6591 3900 To 02 6591 7999
02 9456 0000 To 02 9457 9999
02 9472 8000 To 02 9480 0999
02 9652 0000 To 02 9658 8999
02 9847 1000 To 02 9847 1999
As these circumstances were outside of QTelecom’s control, QTelecom is claiming an extension to time frames applying under the Telecommunications (Customer Service Guarantee) Standard 2011. This means that QTelecom is notifying customers that normal service time frames may not be met during the period of 7 January 2016 to 27 March 2016 inclusive (based on QTelecom’s estimated recovery schedule correct at the time of publication of this notice)
We apologise for the inconvenience.
With thanks,
QTelecom Customer Care Team
