Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin: How telco installed a dedicated 5G phone tower right in front of its CEO’s $15 million home after she moved in

EXCLUSIVE

About 18 months after she bought the property, a powerful Optus 5G phone tower was set up right outside the CEO’s $15 million home, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.

The The Optus Small Cell transmitter was installed on a utility pole on the street where Kelly Bayer Rosmarin lives Sydney‘s eastern suburbs in late 2022 in what was once a notorious mobile blackspot.

One technology expert said it was ‘not a good look’ for the transmitter, which provides enhanced mobile coverage to an area of ​​up to 400 meters, to be right outside her home, while others continued to suffer from poor coverage.

A local Optus user – who contacted Daily Mail Australia about the channel – said despite the opulent homes lining the streets, the area has always been a signal black spot.

That is, until Mrs. Bayer Rosmarin, 46, and her husband, Rodney, bought their lavish property.

According to Woollahra Council planning documents, the telephone tower was installed specifically to improve coverage in the area: ‘So residents enjoy a better network experience and higher speeds with 5G.’

A local Optus customer, who regularly works in the area, said there had been connectivity issues in the area for a long time.

“I was somewhat dismayed at the connectivity in the area [the area]what it needed to connect to [nearby] cells and it was still bad,” the customer told Daily Mail Australia.

‘That improved at the end of last year when the 5G cell was installed in that area.

“I think Optus customers are happy that she (Ms Bayer Rosmarin) has moved in.

“Not that it did her any good last Wednesday,” he joked – as 10 million Australians suffered a phone network blackout from 4am until early afternoon in the worst outage in Australian history.

When Daily Mail Australia asked Optus whether the CEO had a role in the construction of the tower outside her home, a spokesperson said the unit was part of a two-year plan to “improve” coverage in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

The spokesperson added that the telco is committed to identifying coverage issues across Australia.

‘This effort includes optimizing existing sites and establishing new ones to ensure higher levels of network performance and coverage in the region.’

Optus Small Cells, as they are known, increase the capacity of 5G and 4G networks and improve coverage in a small area.

The small devices operate at lower power than traditional cell phone stations.

They ensure that residents have fewer outages, better internet access and faster data uploads and downloads. They are often built into existing light or electricity poles.

Tech expert Trevor Long said the location of the phone transmitter was flawed after the telco suffered a massive outage that left 10 million customers without service from 4am to 6.30pm on Wednesday, November 8.

“I don’t think the Optus CEO has won any favors with Australians,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“The most important thing Optus needs to do now is focus on the customer, and if you build a tower near the CEO’s house then you’re not focusing on the customer.”

The Optus blackout left customers unable to make and receive calls and complete transactions, with Ms Bayer Rosmarin only appearing publicly hours after the drama began, leaving the Communications Minister to the cameras.

On the day of the crisis, Daily Mail Australia revealed that Mrs Bayer Rosmarin’s home was the scene of an extensive photo shoot to promote the house’s architect.

Her husband Rodney was seen directing the stylists, along with one of their daughters and the family dog, a silver-gray Italian greyhound named ‘Vespa’.

Mr Bayer Rosmarin told Daily Mail Australia the photoshoot was ‘unfortunate timing’.

‘They hadn’t gotten around to photographing it yet and today it was done.

He admitted that the network crash had been “hell” for his wife, adding: “Unfortunately that’s the problem with large organizations and modern technology.”

Optus told its unhappy customers on Monday afternoon that the 4.05am outage was caused by a routine software update and that it had taken steps to ‘ensure this does not happen again’.

“We sincerely apologize for letting our customers down and the inconvenience this causes,” the statement said.

The statement said the action caused many routers to automatically disconnect from the Optus IP Core network to protect themselves.

More than 400,000 businesses were affected by Wednesday’s nationwide service outage for up to 12 hours.

North Sydney Barbers manager Jake Azar was forced to turn away customers and close his business by lunchtime, a decision that cost him hundreds of dollars.

During a media appearance, Ms Bayer Rosmarin was stunned to learn that the mass outage was impacting a barbershop’s ability to provide haircuts.

“I’m disappointed that a hairdresser couldn’t cut it today,” she told Nine News on Wednesday.

“That seems like one of the few things you can do without connectivity.”