Telco tower toppled in Mullumbimby

A telecommunications tower hosting Optus antennas was toppled about a fortnight ago, with police investigating what is suspected to be an act of vandalism.

File photo of a telecommunications tower.

The tower, on Vallances Road in Mullumbimby, is suspected to have been damaged “sometime between 12am and 8pm on Saturday May 18”, NSW Police said.

“Police from Tweed/Byron Police District were subsequently notified and have commenced inquiries into the incident.”

ABC News, which first reported the incident, showed an image of the tower on its side, crashed through the perimeter fence. 

Bolts anchoring the tower to the ground had been removed, according to the report. 

Optus confirmed the damage affected equipment that it hosted on the tower.

“We are aware that some customers in the Mullumbimby area are experiencing disruption to their services after a mobile tower was damaged in a suspected case of vandalism,” a spokesperson for the telco said.

“Optus leases the space on the tower from a third-party infrastructure provider to service Optus customers. 

“We are working with this other provider to restore service to the area, and we will share updates on our website once restored.   

“We apologise to affected customers and thank them for their patience.”

News reports dating back to 2010 show that Optus had been trying to build a tower on Vallances Road, after having other sites deemed unsuitable.

Optus, like other telcos, has since carved its passive infrastructure out into a different company and sold a majority stake. It's understood the tower belongs to that company, which goes by the name Indara.

It is not the first such incident in the area.

Other tower infrastructure has previously been damaged in Mullumbimby, notably a fire that impacted Telstra antennas, transmitters and receiver infrastructure.

Police urged anyone with information on the Vallances Road incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.