Residents of the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury are demanding answers from the NBN, with their modems continually blowing up during storms.

Locals have found themselves rushing home to disconnect their modems at the first sign of bad weather.

Blue Mountains resident Matthew Beck is on his third modem in just eight months of having an NBN connection.

He told Deborah Knight the issue occurs “whenever there’s a bit of lightning or thunder”, but the NBN has refused to provide a backup.

“It seems like the NBN knows that with fibre to the curb, this is a particular problem … and if it’s a known problem, then surely there’s got to be a solution to it somewhere.

“Why does this issue occur, when in other parts of the world it seems to withstand things like typhoons?”

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NBN Chief Engineering Officer John Parkin joined Jim Wilson to respond to the complaints.

He assured frustrated customers the company is taking the issue seriously, including by increasing service teams in the area.

“We’re doing all we can to resolve not only any faults that we receive quickly, but also continuing to strengthen the network.”

He advised customers in lightening-prone areas to unplug their modems and avoid using surge protection devices, but was unable to give a timeline as to when the frequency of outages would reduce.

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Image: Getty