Optus has restored services for the majority of customers affected by an outage in the NSW Hunter region which potentially impacted triple zero calls.

The disruption, caused by vandalism at a mobile phone tower, affected mobile voice and data services for hours for just under 70,000 customers.

It is understood the damage occurred on Maitland Road at Hexham in Newcastle at 9.30am today.

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"We apologise to our customers for the disruption and thank them for their patience," an Optus spokesperson said at 5.45pm.

"We will continue to provide regular updates as work progresses."

The spokesperson said Optus alerted emergency services and agencies, Telstra's emergency call person and relevant government bodies.

It's understood Optus customers were notified just after 1.30pm today.

Telstra confirmed the damage knocked out five of its mobile sites and some landline services in different parts of NSW.

"Repairs are under way and services are progressively coming back online," a spokesperson said.

"Vandalism and copper theft is a significant international issue that affects all service companies, including Telstra.

"The impact of vandalism like this can be significant for businesses, individuals and critical community services.

"It also requires us to divert work crews to restore services, delaying us from resolving other customer issues.

"We encourage anyone seeing any suspicious activity near our facilities to contact police immediately."

A crime scene has been set up and police have appealed to the public for dashcam footage.

Welfare checks are under way in the NSW Hunter region to investigate if there were any failed attempts to connect with emergency services.

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"We're sorry services are still disrupted by an outage," Optus said in an email.

"Calls to emergency services are impacted by this outage.

"Optus customers will only be able to call emergency services if they are within coverage of another mobile network or are able to call via wi-fi."

The outage comes a day after chairman and chief executive Stephen Rue was questioned at a senate inquiry over a triple zero outage in September.

Three customers who were unable to call the emergency line died.

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Two men have been arrested and charged with the murder of a Sydney plumber earlier this year in what police believe may have been a case of mistaken identity in an attempted gangland hit.

John Versace, a 23-year-old man with no links to any criminal organisations, was shot in Condell Park on May 19.

This morning, police arrested 19-year-old Ahmed Naji at his Bankstown home and a 43-year-old man in Casula. Both were charged with murder and refused bail to appear at court today.

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"(The men were) involved in planning the murder, staged vehicles in preparation of the murder, drove the person responsible for the shooting," Detective Superintendent Jason Box alleged this afternoon.

"(They) assisted in the planning and preparation of murder through acquiring and staging vehicles."

Versace was found outside his family home on Dalton Street and had suffered gunshot wounds to his chest and stomach.

He was treated by paramedics, but died at the scene.

"There's nothing to suggest that Mr Versace was anything but a hard-working young man that was living at home with his family and trying to set himself up for the rest of his life," Box said.

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The shooting was captured on CCTV, with Versace shown reversing his ute onto the driveway, before being confronted by two people in another car.

One person got out of the car and approached Versace before firing multiple shots at him.

The two suspects then fled in the car from the scene, leaving a dying Versace on the driveway.

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A burnt-out car of a similar make and model was later found in Fairfield East, with a handgun also found in the smouldering wreck.

Investigations into the shooting continue.

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It is the second supermoon of the year after last month’s Harvest Moon.

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Locals said a naked cyclist had been spotted in the area for the past few days.

The "beaver" supermoon is the closest supermoon of the year, and is set to rise above the Australian sky this evening at around sunset.

A supermoon is a full moon that only occurs when the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it appear larger and brighter than usual.

The best time to view a supermoon is just as it's rising above the horizon, so people hoping to view the moment are urged to find a good viewing spot and catch it.

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The moon will be rising from the east, so people are being urged to get a vantage point with their backs to the sunset.

Somewhere with a clear view of the horizon and minimal cloud coverage is also recommended for the best viewing experience.

What actually is a supermoon?

Definitions of a supermoon can vary, but the term generally applies to a full moon that is closer to Earth than normal and thus appears larger and brighter in the night sky.

Some astronomers say the phenomenon occurs when the moon is within 90 per cent of perigee – its closest approach to Earth in orbit.

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