Telstra techs go beyond the call

An East Kimberley business leader has praised local Telstra workers for going above and beyond to fix a major outage in the East Kimberley region. Residents from Kununurra, Wyndham, Lake Argyle and Halls Creek reported not having access to the 4G network for a number of days last month, causing mobile internet speeds to be extremely slow and in some cases unusable. A technical issue at Telstra’s optic fibre site in the King Leopold Range caused an outage for mobiles and some landline services in the Kimberley, with 17 sites affected by the transmission hardware failure stretching from Fitzroy Crossing up to Kununurra on March 11. Telstra remote communication technician Gary Read was working in Fitzroy Crossing when he experienced his own mobile service failure and immediately messaged management advising where he was and his availability if a fibre issue was the cause. He then posted on his colleagues’ social media group asking if anyone knew what was happening, with members of the group based in the Pilbara, Broome, Perth and Dunsborough taking the time to help him solve the problem after business hours. After a series of investigations and attempts to source replacement parts and equipment, Mr Read’s colleague Jarrad Radke drove from working in Derby to Broome, then another two hours towards Fitzroy Crossing at 6pm and back again after a full shift. Mr Read then had to drive back for more than an hour to fix the part, which after all the team’s hard work was unfortunately faulty. He didn’t finish his shift until after midnight, returning to his accommodation in Fitzroy Crossing to sleep before tackling the problem again the next day. Another replacement part was found interstate and fast-tracked to Broome, with the two men departing each town again late that Thursday night to meet at the Blina Regen site between 10 and 11pm to install the part and restore service. East Kimberley Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Steve Sharpe said he was inspired by the technicians’ commitment to the community. “I wasn’t even aware of the kind of work going on behind the scenes to resolve the issue and when I learnt of the commitment shown by Jarrad and the team it was an honour to congratulate him and say thank you,” he said. “I think we underestimate the power of individuals, it really comes down to these few people who pulled out all to get us up and running again. “Just think of what another day of not having connection in the East Kimberley would have resulted in, their effort was really inspiring.” Mr Radke, a former Kununurra resident now based in Broome, said he wanted to to highlight the proactive attitude and ownership local staff have in the remote area’s to Telstra management. “It wasn’t something special in our team’s view, it’s what we do and how we operate,” Mr Radke said. “Most of us have lived and worked in this remote part of Australia for some time and have a connection to the communities we live in and the Telstra networks that supply services to them. “We know our patch and do what we need to resolve things as soon as we are able when problems occur.”