Due to the summer temperatures – particularly as the South East is currently experiencing a heatwave – a concern was what could happen without an adequate communication service in the event of a bushfire. 

Wandella resident Brian Myers said the problems first arose with reception for mobiles and wireless modems in November last year, with regular issues at the telecommunication’s tower on Peak Alone. 

The longest time without reception was four days, but he said it regularly went out for two to three days. 

“We’re all at risk if we have a fire because we won’t have any communication,” he said. 

“I’m paying $80 a month for this non-service.” 

On Tuesday a spokesperson for Telstra said they were aware of the issues with reception in the region.

“We are aware of the issues affecting the performance of the Peak Alone tower, at this point in time we are unable to determine the exact cause of the issues, as they are still under investigation,” they said. 

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and can assure them we are working as quickly as possible to restore services.” 

A public meeting will be held at Wandella Hall on Wednesday, January 16 from 7pm for Wandella and Yowrie residents to discuss issues around Telstra reception.