Bushfire knocks out phone network in Cape York

A bushfire in Cape York, a remote region in Far North Queensland, has disrupted telecommunications for residents since Saturday evening. Many individuals have been unable to make calls, including emergency calls to Triple Zero (000). Telstra has dispatched a team of technicians from Cairns to Weipa in Cape York to address the issue, with services expected to be restored by Sunday evening.

Optus, another telecommunications company, confirmed that its customers in the area were also affected. The towns of Mapoon, Weipa, Napranum, and Aurukun have been impacted by the outage, which includes fixed line, ADSL, and mobile services.

The Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council, headed by Chad King, expressed concern over the situation, particularly for Mapoon, a town of about 500 people that relies entirely on mobile coverage due to the absence of a fixed phone system. The council has established additional free Wi-Fi to mitigate some impacts. King emphasized the urgency of the issue, stating that it is a genuine concern and something the government should address, given the remote location and lack of nearby emergency services.

King highlighted the single-point failure caused by a single phone tower and called for improved services in remote and regional areas to meet the Closing the Gap target 17, which aims to ensure digital access for First Nations communities is equivalent to that of other communities in the country. The community feels they are regressing in terms of connectivity.