Power outage leaves 95-year-old Erskine man without telephone communications

Mr Verdoes, who recently rolled over to the NBN, said he realised the phone stopped working shortly after the power went out, leaving him completely isolated until the power was restored.

“That was a bit frightening because I realised that I couldn’t even dial 000 if something was wrong because I didn’t have any backup there,” the 95-year-old said.

“It was pitch dark, mate.

“I thought this is not good enough, I never had that before until the new system came in because they were supplying their own power.

“They put the NBN in there and there’s no backup and if the power is gone then you have no telephone as simple as that.”

Mr Verdoes, who like many other elderly residents doesn’t use a mobile phone, said he was never warned that the phone would stop working during a blackout when the NBN was rolled out.

And he said the experience left him with a very uneasy feeling.

“All these bloody thieves could even walk in and out and you wouldn’t even know. It’s a bad thing and they should do something about it,” he said.

He is now calling on the NBN to address the situation and develop a power back-up system, so other residents aren’t left completely vulnerable during power shortages.

“I’m still healthy and all that but if you have somebody who is relying on a wheelchair or something like that no chance here,” he said.

“There should be a backing up on the system.”

An NBN spokeswoman said the company had a program in place to ensure every state emergency management team fully understood the capabilities and limitations of the NBN, especially during a power black-out.

She also said that power outage information was provided to all premises making the switch. 

However, she said the NBN could not guarantee power at both ends of the network at all times. 

“Landline phones will not work in a power outage,” she said.

“This is because the NBN network requires power at both the exchange and within the home or business to operate.

“While the NBN network has in-built power resiliency in parts, it’s not within NBN’s control to guarantee power at both ends of the network at all times – including within the millions of homes and businesses across Australia.”

She recommended homes and businesses to always be prepared to be without internet and telephone services for a period of time. 

For more information about the landline telephones and the NBN go to the NBN website.