UPDATED: Telstra says it has restored a significant service outage due to a fibre break along the Stuart Highway, which affected communities in the NT, WA, and South Australia, that saw crews travelling more than 1,000 kms to fix.

Telstra reported the outage on Thursday and said it was mobilising crews from Adelaide to reach the site of the fibre break to begin restoration as quickly and safely as possible.

On Friday, the telecommunications company said it was “making good progress” with full restoration of services expected by Friday evening.

In the NT, the outage had affected several areas, including tourist spots like Uluru, Lake Argyle, and the Yulara airport. It has also affected Lajamanu, Yulara, Mutitjulu and other central Australian communities.

The company said the outage was a top priority and had construction crews on site beginning early excavation works of the damaged cable.

“We know how disruptive it is for customers to lose connectivity,” a Telstra spokeswoman said in a statement.

“Repairing fibre in these conditions is complex and highly specialised work. Fibre is made from fine strands of glass, so repairs need to be extremely precise – even small misalignments can cause further damage or impact the signal along the cable.

“We understand this area has experienced multiple fibre impacts in recent months, and we know that’s frustrating for local communities. We’re continuing to investigate the underlying causes and how we can reduce the risk of repeat disruptions.”

Lake Argyle, Bradshaw, Gregory, Victoria River and Mutitjulu had services restored by 8am Friday.

Late Friday afternoon, the spokeswoman said repair works had started around 1pm when technicians finally arrived on site and that they were “making good progress, with restoration expected to begin in the coming hours”.

“We thank the community for their patience,” she said.