An investigation into a nationwide Telstra triple-0 outage has ruled out lightning as the cause of damage to a cable near Orange, in central-western New South Wales.
The outage caused disruptions to triple-0 phone services in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
Traffic lights in Victoria were also affected, and there were reports of disruptions to other telephone services and EFTPOS machines.
At the time of the outage, Telstra's chief executive, Andy Penn, said the cable could have been damaged by bad weather.
"All of our evidence suggests it is a lightning strike," Mr Penn said.
"There is physical damage and fire damage to the particular pit where the actual cable is, but obviously we can't prove that."
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service said the blaze was not sparked by a lightning strike, but could not rule out arson or damage to nearby power lines.
Chief Superintendent Ben Millington said the report had been given to police.
"It is very clear that the fire originated outside the Telstra pit and it is the opinion of the fire investigator that the cause is likely electrical infrastructure, powerlines, or arson," he said.
Onus on landholders
Chief Superintendent Millington said it was not unusual that an exact cause had not been pinpointed, despite a thorough investigation involving landholders and Telstra.
"That could be as a result of several things, evidence, burn patterns, the scene itself," he said.
The Rural Fire Service warned landholders to keep their properties properly maintained.
"The onus is on landowners to ensure their infrastructure is maintained and clear of vegetation to stop or prevent the impact of fire," Chief Superintendent Millington said.
The report has been given to Telstra and New South Wales Police to take further action if needed.
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