The NSW government imposed stricter lockdown rules over the weekend, making telcos scramble to clarify their new mode of operation in the Greater Sydney area. Construction activity, non-essential retail services, and some forms of worker transit and in-home repair were limited following the restrictions.

According to Communications Alliance CEO John Stanton, “the NSW Government was responsive to the arguments we put to them and we are grateful for the way they have addressed a number of industry’s concerns within the health order. We received confirmation that, alongside ‘click-and-collect' operations, telco retail outlets can also have COVID-safe in-person contact in order to repair or replace devices. This is important, particularly, in circumstances where elderly or vulnerable customers need to have the connectivity of their device restored – that’s a key part of ensuring the customers’ safety and security during the lock-down and their ability to seek help if required.”

“The conditions placed on construction activity do allow mobile carriers and their contractors to carry out work and complete current builds at mobile sites, in order to ensure the safety or security of a site.”

It follows that residents of the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, and Liverpool LGAs will still be able to work in case they are employed by telecommunications services, internet service providers, web search portals, and data processing services.

A spokesperson of Telstra said that “retail will be opening on Monday for contactless call and collect services. We’re working through the impact to our Telstra-owned stores in the Bankstown, Canterbury, Fairfield, and Liverpool local government areas as a result of tighter stay-at-home orders for these areas. We have shared our plans with our Telstra licensee store owners and will support these stores to provide call and collect services where possible.” The spokesperson also added: “Our store staff will continue to wear masks and follow other COVIDsafe guidelines in store. The majority of our stores are operating at reduced hours and we thank all our customers for their patience and understanding.”

When it comes to field technicians, Telstra advised that “we have COVID-safe protocols in place for our field technicians who are only doing essential work in the affected LGAs, focusing on medical priority and vulnerable customers, emergency services, and essential businesses. We’ve had COVID-safe protocols in place for our βield technicians throughout the pandemic to keep people safe and ensure critical services are maintained.”

On the other hand, Optus VP regulatory and public affairs Andrew Sheridan said that “We are pleased that the NSW Government has been willing to engage with our sector and has recognised the critical support that the telecommunications industry provides in keeping Australians safe and connected, by enabling our retail stores to remain open for both click and collect and to provide essential repairs for customers’ devices.”

“The government has also mandated that essential repair work, maintenance, and the completion of in-progress work on sites can be carried out. This is important in enabling us to keep our customers connected to their friends, family, and work during these challenging times.”