Optus fibre cable cut in Melbourne

An Optus transmission cable has been severed at Docklands in central Melbourne, causing service degradation across “some parts” of the city.

Network status reports sighted by iTnews together with accounts from customers show the cable was cut by an undisclosed third party just after 9am AEST, although an official Optus advisory says the outage began at 11am.

It is understood the cable was severed by workers using concrete-cutting equipment.

The telco said technicians had been sent to Docklands to replace the damaged section of cable, with the job expected to begin about 8pm AEST.

Optus said it expected to have the cable reconnected "this evening" although some advisories did not offer an estimated time of restoration (ETR).

“Optus customers across some parts of Melbourne may be experiencing disruptions or congestion to their mobile and internet services today due to a severed Optus fibre cable,” a spokesperson for the telco said.

“We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience experienced and appreciate their patience.”

Earlier reports indicated the problems may have affected an intercapital link between Melbourne and Adelaide, although this could not be independently confirmed, and Optus’ comments appear to suggest the impact is more localised.

Update: The cable was connected at 10pm AEST.