BY LUKE STRINGER

Telstra have apologised for the internet and phone blackout that affected a large number of North Queenslanders for over nine hours yesterday.

The outage started around 3.30pm, forcing some businesses that rely on Telstra-reliant network services to close for the day and others to use pen and paper.

In a statement, Telstra said a fibre cable was damaged by a third party yesterday afternoon on the Mulligan Hwy in Mt Molloy, causing the problem.

"Our field staff attended the site and successfully repaired the damage at 12.45 this morning," the Telstra spokesperson said.

In an ironic twist, irate customers had to wait until services were restored this morning to criticise the company on social media.

After losing Internet and phone connectivity soon after 3pm yesterday, Westpac’s Macrossan Street branch had to close, losing at least two hours of trade.

Mantra Portsea General Manager Kyla Sippel said resort staff had to take reservations manually and wait until the system was back up today to log tour, as did many of the region’s resorts and accommodation houses.

Restaurants, retail and tourist operators were also affected.

Yesterday's outage is the latest blow to locals, who are still waiting to receive 4G coverage and suffer from mobile black spots throughout the region.