Optus conducted planned maintenance which led to outages for mobile users in the Mudgee area. Optus issued multiple statements to the Mudgee Guardian during this time to thank those affected for their patience while the work was completed.

The problem in the eyes of many is that customers weren't informed of the maintenance ahead of time. No text, email or phone call to advise that there may be interruptions.

One Optus user, Mudgee resident Meredith Mitchell (who works at the Mudgee Guardian) said contacting customers should be a policy.

"When there's going to be planned maintenance, you'd think it would be a common courtesy for Optus to tell us so that we could make alternative arrangements," she said.

"Especially in regional areas like this, people rely on their provider to run their small business or contact family if there's an emergency."

The Mudgee Guardian reached out to Optus, twice asking for comment on why customers weren't notified of the maintenance ahead of time.

"We do not contact customers with information on maintenance scheduling," a spokesperson replied.

"To ensure customers are aware of any planned upgrades, maintenance, outages or any other unexpected events affecting their Optus broadband or mobile services, we encourage them to visit: https://www.optus.com.au/about/network/service-status"

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Optus Territory General Manager for Central NSW Tom O'Dea said the telecommunications giant is undertaking planned upgrades to improve network coverage.

"Optus is currently undertaking planned upgrades to its mobile sites in the Mudgee region which will provide increased capacity and improve network coverage for our customers," he said.

"Optus apologises to customers who were affected by the upgrades and thanks them for their patience."

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