Telecom's troubled AAPT unit hits fresh problem

Telecom's troubled Australian operation suffered another blow yesterday, with a widespread network outage halting fixed-line services in Queensland, The Australian newspaper reported today.

Water damage at the company's Riverside exchange in Brisbane caused wide-scale disruption to AAPT's residential and business customers in Queensland, an AAPT spokeswoman said.

All AAPT's fixed-line voice and data services in the state were affected.

Telecom this week announced a restructuring of its Australian operations. It is also reviewing its ownership of AAPT and analysts expect it to be sold in its entirety or in part. Earlier this month Telecom slashed the carrying value of the AAPT by nearly a billion dollars.

- NZPA