Mobile coverage falls in Candelo as tower vandalised, toppled

Telstra crews have been on site to investigate and reported the damage appears to have been a deliberate act of vandalism.

Telstra regional general manager Chris Taylor said the matter had been referred to police and the telco was investigating interim connectivity options for the community.

"We're working with police to investigate what happened and encourage anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area to contact Crime Stoppers," Mr Taylor said.

"Vandalism like this not only inconvenience local residents, but it also poses a potential safety threat for vulnerable customers or people with a medical condition if they lose connectivity.

"We're working to get everything back online as quickly as possible, however due to the severity of the damage, it may take some time to fix."

Mr Taylor said Telstra apologised for the inconvenience and encouraged residents to check the Telstra Outages page for the latest information.

"In the meantime, residents should try accessing Wi-Fi calling. This works even during a mobile outage and is a free setting on most popular mobile phones, which allows your mobile to use a Wi-Fi network to make and receive mobile calls."

He said landline, NBN and other broadband services should not be impacted.

The new base station was only erected and activated in late 2023 after significant community frustration at the lack of mobile reception in the village and surrounds.

It was of particular concern to businesses and stallholders at the popular monthly markets, which were unable to accept EFTPOS transactions given the lack of service.