Regional General Manager for Telstra in the NT Nic Danks said a technician travelled to Maningrida via helicopter this morning to restore 3G and 4G mobile services which had been an "intermittent" issue since December 16.

Services were restored at 12.30pm on Monday.

"A Telstra technician travelled to the site by helicopter this morning with a number of replacement parts to undertake further investigations and restoration works," Mr Danks said.

"The cause was found to be a hardware issue at the local telephone exchange that was impacting the transmission network.

"Telstra apologises for any inconvenience caused to local residents during this time and will continue to monitor the site over coming days to make sure it continues to operate effectively."

EARLIER:

Maningrida Arts & Culture Manager Derek Carter said the community, which is home to around 3000 people, had been without internet since Wednesday.

Mr Carter said as a result of the outage, EFTPOS machines at stores across the community were not working, and residents are unable to get cash out at ATMs.

"The EFTPOS not working, till [in the shop] not working," Mr Carter said.

Mr Carter said people have run out of cash to buy essential items like food and fuel.

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"[The shops are] only cash. We got no cash - it's all in the bank," he said.

"We hoping it's going to go back on. People are struggling for fuel, it's not working."

He said residents are concerned about the outage so close to Christmas.

"If its not working, what are we going do on Wednesday and Thursday [in the days before Christmas]."

NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy has taken to social media to call on Telstra and the Federal Government to fix the issue.

"Families are going hungry. This wouldn't be accepted in Melbourne or Sydney, it should not be accepted in Maningrida," Senator McCarthy said.

"It's a disgrace that the Morrison Government is ignoring what should be regarded as a crisis.

"The West Arnhem Regional Council has raised telecommunications issues in their region months ago with Minister Wyatt with no response.

She said people with Basics Cards or Cashless Debit Cards have been unable to use them due to the outage.

"This latest internet outage in Maningrida is just another example of how dysfunctional and punitive compulsory income management is. Families who have no choice but to go on the Basics Card or Cashless Debit Card by the Morrison Government cannot even access their own money."

Another Maningrida resident said in a Facebook post that residents are also unable to contact emergency services after hours because of the outage.

"No calling police or after hours nurses (so no emergency medical care)," Yanja Thompson-Gaykamangu said.

"Many without food... who has enough cash to last this long? Also those with Basics Card (Income Management) have no access to cash... Ever.."

Ms Thompson-Gaykamangu said a free barbecue is being held at the local pool to help struggling families.

A Telstra spokesperson said said the issue was being investigated.

"Telstra techs are currently investigating a mobile issue impacting 3G and 4G services in Maningrida, and are hoping to have it fixed as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.

"Fixed line and NBN services are not impacted.

"We always encourage community stores to have a backup connectivity option to ensure business continuity in case of an outage."

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