The NSW Poisons Information Centre is also uncontactable due to the outage.
“During this time, please call the temporary hotline number on 1300 392 539 for all poisons advice,” a statement said.
Customers line up outside the Optus store in George Street during the network outage. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
The telco has also confirmed triple zero calls would not work from an Optus landline.
“We encourage any customers who need to contact emergency services to use a mobile line to call 000,” Optus said in a statement.
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In a statement, Service NSW urged users to visit in-person branches. “We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” it said.
The outage has forced local businesses across Sydney to revert to cash only.
Abraham Golski, who operates Abe’s Coffee Supply in Sydney’s inner west, had to delay opening his cafe on Wednesday morning due to the outage.
“I had to find out searching on the internet, [Optus] didn’t send a notice, message or email,” he said.
“I cannot accept card payments, how frustrating.”
Uber drivers and users were also affected, unable to use the app due to the outage. Cab company 13Cabs is also unable to receive calls due to the outage.
Banks were also hit by the outage, with Commonwealth Bank telling customers it couldn’t take calls through its call centres.
Westpac said it may not be able to take some calls, while ANZ Bank said incoming calls may be affected.
The outage has also proved a major disruption for remote workers.
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On Wednesday morning, users flocked to Surry Hills Library in Sydney’s inner city to utilise their Wi-Fi, with people seen sitting outside the building to use their phones.
In one case, an Optus user in Sydney’s south took to Airtasker in desperation, offering $150 to anyone who would bring her a new SIM card.
“I’m an Optus customer affected by the outage and need to be connected for work rather than use friend’s phone. Need a SIM card. Telstra or Vodafone is fine and delivered to my door ASAP,” Alma K from Narwee wrote.
One Optus customer, Annie, also told ABC Radio she found out about the issues through her cat, who is fed through an automatic Wi-Fi feeder, and missed being fed due to the outage.
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