Mobile coverage has been out across the region since midday yesterday.

An Optus spokesperson told The Advocate that it initially thought the outage was due to a transmission issue, but after the troubleshooting process was completed with no signs of improvement, it was discovered that six antenna cables had been chewed through.

“Upon investigation, it appears that local cockatoos have chewed through all six radio antenna cables the tower uses to provide service to the area,” an Optus spokesperson said.

The fault at the phone tower, in Kyneton, has also impacted nearby towers, meaning Optus customers in the Castlemaine and Daylesford areas are also experiencing service interruptions. 

“Optus technicians have been on site this afternoon at a local tower in Kyneton to investigate the cause of service interruptions for some Optus customers locally.

Optus said they are working to resolve the issue, but it may take time as there are regulations around the times technicians can climb up the phone tower.

It said new cabling also needed to be installed, which could take time.

“Our technicians are working to implement a solution as soon as possible. We thank customers for their patience,” the spokesperson said.