XT problems 'pain in the butt' - farmers

Farmers in the deep south affected by Telecom's XT mobile network outage are describing the problems as "a real pain in the butt".

Mobile services are still out in the lower part of the country, including Dunedin, Invercargill, Timaru and Queenstown and users in other areas are also experiencing intermittent problems.

Southland Federated Farmers president Rod Pemberton says farmers have come to rely on their cellphones. He says the breakdown is a pain, but Southland farmers are more frustrated than angry about the problem. Mr Pemberton says breakdowns happen, but Telecom's reputation for reliability has taken a serious hit.

Labour is also calling for Telecom to get its act together. MP Ross Robertson says Telecom needs to urgently sort out the issues with XT before businesses, particularly smaller ones, suffer further financial difficulties. He says it is simply unacceptable, and close to third world standards, that some businesses have not been able to count on the telecommunications service they are paying for.

Telecom CEO Paul Reynolds is again apologising to customers and says the company's focus at the moment is on fixing things. Telecom will look closely at claims for compensation once the problems are sorted.

The company is advising anyone making a 111 emergency call in the lower South Island to use a landline and not their mobile.

- NEWSTALK ZB