Wednesday 3 June 2009

Smithfield phone communication cut off

A large number of homes have lost their telephone connection today, following what appears to be a deliberate sabotage to Telstra's copper telecommunication network cables, north of Cairns.

A number of residential streets around Smithfield have lost their telephone connection, however Telstra is still determining if it was vandalism.

"It appears to be a deliberate act, however we are still trying to determine that," Telstra's Area General Manager, Wally Donaldson told CairnsBlog. "It's never happened in my time up here, so is very surprising."

"At least two very large cables were cut," Wally Donaldson said. "We've had around 30 fault reports so far from residents."

The two cables that were cut, presumably for the value of the copper wire, cut all telecommunication lines to several blocks. One of the cables was not in use, so limited the impact.

"We hoped to get everyone reconnected as soon as possible," Donaldson said. However, a Telstra technician I spoke to at Smithfield this morning said some lines would not be reconnected for days, due to the amount of technicians available.

I suspect that the breakdown of communication, albeit temporary, could have a devastating effect on those cultivating illegal drugs in the back streets of Smithfield, bordering McAllister Range ;-)

Similar copper thefts have occurred on Telstra network on the Gold Coast during recent times.

1 comment:

macca wacker said...

OH gosh then how will that loudmouth empty head from redlynch ring his mate "macca" hhheeeeee