Perth Businesses Scramble as Telstra Outage and AI Costs Surge

Perth commercial leasing activity rose 4.2 per cent in June as mining services companies secured new space in the CBD following the national Telstra outage that disrupted triple-zero calls and train services across the state.

The outage, which occurred on 8 July, exposed gaps in backup systems for businesses reliant on mobile networks for payments and logistics, prompting immediate reviews of operating costs in a city where resources exports already face volatile global prices.

Local impacts on St Georges Terrace and Subiaco

Tenants at 108 St Georges Terrace reported two-hour delays in transaction processing during the outage, while operators along Hay Street in the CBD and at the Subiaco markets shifted to cash reserves and satellite links to keep trading. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA recorded 87 member queries on network redundancy within 24 hours, with several firms citing lost revenue from halted freight movements at Perth Airport.

Data shows rising costs for AI infrastructure

State government figures released last week put Perth data centre power demand at 18 per cent above 2025 levels, pushing average industrial electricity contracts to $0.28 per kilowatt-hour for new facilities near Kewdale. Office vacancy rates in the Perth CBD stood at 11.8 per cent at the end of June, with asking rents averaging $465 per square metre, according to the latest Property Council of Australia survey.

Businesses should audit mobile and internet failover options this month, allocate 5 to 8 per cent of IT budgets to satellite or private network trials, and monitor power contract renewals before September deadlines to avoid the premium rates now appearing in resource sector supply chains.