https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/increasing-fire-threat-to-vulnerable-telecommunications-networks-20200110-p53qcy.html
> Increasing fire threat to vulnerable telecommunications networks > > Our coverage of the bushfire crisis is free for all readers. Please consider > supporting our journalism with a subscription. > By Fergus Hunter and Zoe Samios > > January 11, 2020 — 12.00am > > Australia's unprecedented bushfire crisis has exposed the vulnerability of > phone and internet networks, prompting Communications Minister Paul Fletcher > to warn telecommunications giants to prepare for increasingly severe > disasters. > > As dozens of mobile towers went dark during this summer's catastrophic > bushfires, people have been cut off from contact with emergency services and > in some cases unable to pay for essential supplies. Telcos have scrambled to > bolster their networks and respond to the outages, rolling out satellite > trucks, portable reception towers and restoring disabled mobile base stations. > > > Telstra is working to get telecommunications back up and running in > fire-ravaged communities in Victoria. > > Telstra revealed its network experienced "critical damage" as 36 mobile > towers were knocked out in bushfires in rapidly-changing conditions, but more > than half of those were now back online. > > Mr Fletcher welcomed the rapid responses by Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and the > government-owned national broadband network (NBN) but said questions need to > be asked about the long-term resilience of telecommunications infrastructure > critical to Australians' safety during emergencies. > > "It will be important to take a careful look at this and see what the lessons > are and see if there are steps that should be taken to further improve > network resilience, particularly as we expect bushfires to be more severe, > the bushfire season to be longer, as all of the expert advice is suggesting," > he said. > > Mr Fletcher said ideas to consider included tougher network infrastructure, > adding more back-up options during outages and increased use of satellites > and Wi-Fi spots. > > He also said instances where the EFTPOS network was unavailable during > emergencies when mobile reception dropped out was an emerging problem as > people moved away from cash. > > "Are there options for greater resilience in the EFTPOS networks and could > satellite have a role to play there?" he said. > > Mr Fletcher has spoken with the chief executives of the country's major > telcos about the impact of the fires, praising their emergency efforts but > urging them to look at improvements because networks were "not impervious" to > growing threats. He said telecommunications resilience would be a key part of > the government's own review. > > "Whatever form that takes, certainly the resilience of the telecommunications > networks will need to be part of that along with a range of other issues," he > said. > > The majority of mobile network outages have been caused by power loss. After > the main supply fails, back-up power kicks in but soon requires re-fuelling > by technicians who have to wait until it is safe to access the sites. > > Mr Fletcher also expressed concern there were "still too many" mobile black > spots in regional and remote Australia despite the government and private > sector spending $760 million on more than 1000 base stations in four funding > rounds, with $160 million more in the pipeline. > > People in affected areas are urged to listen to emergency services' advice > and not view the availability of internet or phone reception as an indication > they are safe. Mr Fletcher recommended people carry a transistor radio with > fresh batteries as a back-up way of tuning in to safety advice. > > Telstra now has 15 towers down in NSW, one in Victoria and one in South > Australia, but the telco expects the number to grow again over the weekend as > the fire threat worsens. The company expects the damage bill to be in the > tens of millions, although a full assessment has not taken place. > > Certainly the resilience of the telecommunications networks will need to be > part of that [review] along with a range of other issues. > > Communications Minister Paul Fletcher > Optus currently estimates seven mobile towers will need to be rebuilt in NSW, > Victoria and Western Australia. East Gippsland and the South Coast of NSW > have been affected badly but most sites in these areas have already been > restored. > > "Back-up generators are one way we can restore our mobile services but this > does not suit every situation. Base stations rely on power, so in the > instance of outages and when emergency services advises it is safe to do so, > connecting a generator may restore services," said an Optus spokesperson. > > NBN has one site currently offline in NSW, which it was hoping to restore on > Friday. East Gippsland was affected, however, all services are now back > online. > > NBN said it was keeping its generators filled with fuel until mains power > recovered at affected sites. It had also installed Sky Muster satellite > dishes at 22 evacuation centres and two Road Muster trucks to provide free > Wi-Fi services at centres in Batemans Bay and Malua Bay. > > Vodafone Hutchison Australia has restored service to three affected areas in > NSW and two in Victoria that were affected by the fires. Batemans Bay, > Bergalia, Dignams Creek, Bega, Wolumla and Narooma are still being repaired. > There is more extensive damage in areas such as Cobargo, Moruya and > Victoria's Marmingo Hill. -- Kim Holburn IT Network & Security Consultant T: +61 2 61402408 M: +61 404072753 mailto:[email protected] aim://kimholburn skype://kholburn - PGP Public Key on request _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
