Floods put Telstra's FTTP move on hold

Telco giant Telstra has sent a letter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), advising that its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) migration project in South Brisbane will be delayed as the Queensland flood disaster continues to take its toll.

Telstra had originally planned to commence migrating some customers to FTTP in March; however, the flood crisis has wreaked havoc on the existing move schedule.

"This plan was based on a FTTP roll-out schedule which did not anticipate the current severe flooding in Queensland and northern New South Wales," Telstra said in its letter.

The telco said today in a statement that it won't know where it stands on FTTP migration in Brisbane until the flood waters have subsided.

"Telstra will not know the extent of damage to its network until it can get into flood-affected areas, once we do have access and know more we will determine the best solution for the customer be it a network upgrade or replacement of like for like infrastructure," the telco said in a statement this afternoon.

Telstra staff are currently aiding in clean-up and rebuilding operations around Queensland and northern New South Wales.

As the flood waters rose around the state, Telstra technicians defended exchange buildings by sandbagging, filling cracks and joints and even wrapping some buildings in plastic wrap to protect them.

Telstra said that it had not entered into any discussions with the government or NBN Co as to whether it would replace damaged copper infrastructure with fibre to future proof the network.

The telco promised to provide the ACCC with an update on the situation "within the next few weeks".