[LINK] Question about hooking up phones to fibre

[Paul Brooks]

On 17/10/2011 9:29 PM, Jan Whitaker wrote:
> Hi guys
> Hope you can help me out. A friend is in one of the new 
> neighbourhoods where Telstra no longer lays copper and a private 
> company has the contract to put in fibre as their comms services, 
> both phone and internet and I believe even TV. She was telling me 
> this morning that they paid $500 for a telephone instrument, 'wired', 
> no DECT, just one handset. I was appalled! I told her this didn't 
> sound right to me and I'd ask the techperts on Link.

Jan - was it $500 just for the handset hardware, or $500 connection charge to initiate
the service?
I have heard of estates which charge a $500 connection charge to get phone, television
and Internet connected - and people who just want a phone and not the other two end up
paying $500 all the same.
There are estates which supply the equivalent of business desk phones,
ethernet-connected IP phones with display screens and reprogrammable keys - more like
a hotel phone with one-button access to call the security gate, gym,concierge, CCTV
screen for the front door and button to operate the lock, etc. Is this what theygot,
or was it a standard analogue PSTN handset?


>
> So, weren't we all assured that a standard telephone would hook onto 
> the new customer premises equipment for voice services? Or all we all 
> going to be hit with having to buy a $500 single phone? Or are they 
> being hoodwinked by an unscrupulous provider who thinks they can get 
> away with 'murder' advising this as the only option?

You didn't mention whether the new estate was an NBN estate or not. Yes, NBN-connected
new estates will have hardware which will accept a standard bring-your-own analogue
handset. Whether or not many RSPs use the PSTN port rather than installing their own
voice gateway (like iiNet's BoB for example) remains to be seen.
However, most of the current fibre-cabled estates that people are building in pre-date
the NBN, and have private fibre, private equipment which is not the same gear that the
NBN is putting in.

Which company is providing the network service, and/or can you tell us the name of the
estate?


> So, any insight on the issue of the handset?

With the name of the estate, we should be able to track down the details.
Fibre-connected estates are (were) a private competitive industry, with different
equipment, providers and service bundle offers in each one.

Paul.