Two of the Riverina’s longest-serving linesmen are preparing to be trained on the National Broadband Network, the latest in a long line of innovations since their careers started.
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A lot has changed since Tony Fisher and Peter Norton went to work for the Postmaster-General’s Department more than 40 years ago.
It was the days before Telecom, not long after rotary-dialling and automatic switching had replaced the telephone operator. There was no internet or mobile phone network and the only competition in the industry was between telephone exchange technicians and the linesmen, or ‘linies’, who worked out in the field.
“There’s a lot of old gear out there that still works,” Mr Fisher said.
“We still go out there and fix it, but the technology is a lot better now.”
Mr Norton went to work as a joiner, physically connecting the copper cables that kept the Riverina in touch with the world. He said he still enjoyed working on the lines and every day was a little different than the one before thanks to rapid developments in technology.
Telecom Australia launched its first car-phone in 1981 and by the early ‘90s, mobile phones had shrunk to the size of a house brick. The much-loved Nokia phones of the late ‘90s came along at the same time many Australians were connecting to the world wide web with Bigpond and as the new millennium dawned, optical fibres were being laid across the country.
Throughout that time, the workers in the field trained and retrained and retrained again as new technology improved services and reduced the need for manpower.
“The cables are a lot better now,” Mr Fisher said. “And the joining has improved 100 per cent.”
In 2009, the veteran linesmen helped get regional Victoria reconnected after the Black Saturday bushfires, digging trenches and relaying cables that had been destroyed.
Telstra’s Chris Taylor said even though times had changed, there was still a need for experienced people like Mr Fisher and Mr Norton to teach the next generation how everything worked.
“We need these guys to mentor the next generation,” he said.
“Technological changes can be challenging but they find it refreshing and adapt, which has given them such longevity.
“The past 10 years alone has been incredible and everything is smaller and faster, so we need people like Tony and Peter to show the young guys the ropes.”
Stephen Mudd
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
Stephen Mudd is a journalist for Fairfax Media west of the great divide. He loves music, dogs and travel.
