Locals in Western Australia's remote south-east say they are dumbfounded by Telstra's decision to schedule work on a town's only mobile tower during one of the region's busiest weeks of the year.

The telco has switched off its mobile tower in Hopetoun, about 550 kilometres south-east of Perth, for seven days to perform upgrades to the 4G service and to prepare for 5G.

But the work comes in the middle of the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show, a two-week showcase of the region's biodiversity that attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Cafe owner Simon Flick says he has not had coverage since last Friday.

He said the outage had also rendered Hopetoun's 24-hour fuel station unusable and visitors had been unable to contact loved ones.

Telstra, Mr Flick said, failed to provide him any advance

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