Flinders Island is facing a communications crisis after a fault on Telstra’s transmission link cut mobile and internet services across much of the island.
The outage, which began last week, has caused intermittent services on the southern side of the island, affecting Whitemark and Cape Barren Island.
Telstra is the only mobile provider on the island.
In an update to the community today, Telstra said the fault sits on equipment at its Hays Hill and Cape Barren Island towers.
“Our technical specialists have identified the cause of the issue and are preparing to travel to Flinders Island to carry out repairs,” Telstra said.
“Unfortunately, due to weather conditions and the specialist nature of the work, the earliest our crews can safely reach the island is Monday.”
Repairs involve realigning equipment at a mountain-top transmission site, work Telstra described as complex and highly dependent on weather and safety conditions.
The company warned services could become “more limited” while repairs are underway and could take several days to complete.
Telstra said the hospital and police have independent Starlink connectivity and it is arranging additional support for the school.
Community member Alison Haines wrote to federal communications minister Anika Wells today, raising concerns about the situation.
“My issue is that it is very difficult for someone who has lost their service with Telstra to contact Telstra,” she said.
“The only provider of telecommunications on the Island is Telstra and this poses a serious risk to the health and safety of the community.”
The island’s telecommunications infrastructure received an $11 million upgrade in 2020, funded by the Australian Government, Tasmanian Government, Flinders Council and Telstra.
That project included a new 80-metre radio tower at Waterhouse on Tasmania’s north-east coast, creating the longest radio link across water anywhere on Telstra’s network to provide connectivity to Flinders Island.
Telstra said it is exploring options including temporary communications infrastructure but noted transporting equipment to the island is complex.
