[LINK] A real world NBN connection experience

[gr0ve]

Very different to my experience where
I got to choose where to put the fibre
and backup box.  We got it right in the office and hooked it direct into the network.  The boxes are getting smaller,
but they are ugly. 

We paid a total of $50 connection fee to
Exetel who facilitated the NBN guys coming to our site and installed everything.  We run a VOIP phone off the gig-e switch which we swapped the number from Telstra.  Exetel handled the whole thing and we have been very happy with the service.  The only catch is we need a UPS for the switch and phone otherwise although the NBN gear is battery backed up, the home network is not, so that is the only extra expense we had. I guess we got such good support as we did it two days before the Federal Election.  YMMV.


rachel

--
rachel polanskis
IT Consulting, UNIX & Macintosh
Greater Western Sydney
<gr0ve at exemail.com.au>

> On 14 Feb 2015, at 11:31, Jan Whitaker <jwhit at janwhitaker.com> wrote:
> 
> Linkers may remember asked about connecting phone points to an NBN box. This is a FTTH connection. Thought you might find the experience of the actual person of interest. It's not as rosy as the NBN Co. are presenting. My friend was told this is compulsory (she is NOT in a green field estate) and the cut-off for any comms services other than NBN is midyear 2016. They are advised not to wait til the last minute as there may not be enough techs to do it all in 2016.
> 
> She had in the last couple months just signed up for cable internet and gone through all that expense, assuming she would be set. But no. Here is her experience as told to our computer club yesterday.
> 
> 1. The box inside the house is quite large, and the battery back up beside it is same size.
> 2. They would only install in the nearest wall to the street. That happens, as with many Australian house designs, to be her formal lounge room. Very unsightly.
> 3. It requires a double power point. She had to have one installed.  kaching! $$$
> 4. She was first told she would need to pay for the battery back-up, but talked them out of that and because they stuffed up other things, they gave her one so she will continue w/ phone service in any power outage.
> 5. Batteries need to be replaced every 2 years she was told.   kaching! $$$
> 6. Remember the loungeroom location? her desktop computer is in another room and didn't have wi-fi. Needed to get a wifi 'dongle' kaching! $$$
> 7. The phone points were not connectable without a comms tech to connect things in the wall. She does now have active phone points in all original places. But kaching! $$$
> 8. Telstra (her ISP) charged her for BREAKING HER CONTRACT, a charge of over $230. Of course she rang them and told them she wasn't breaking her plan, but changing to the new NBN plan. They finally understood, after many phone calls, and said they would credit her next account. In the meantime, her phone bill was OVER $600, what with the break charge and the installation extra charges. She will have to pay that, then get credit later.
> 9. There are wires everywhere near the boxes, which are a safety hazard. She said she was finding herself tangled up when she went to close her drapes. 2 connections from the modem to the NBN box and power cables for both. She has a table for the modem to sit on because the instructions re the boxes are to not set anything on them, so it's in the way, too.
> 10. The battery box gets hot, therefore it cannot be hidden behind curtains. She had to get a tie back and clip to hold her curtains away from them. Did I forget to mention this was the only place they could install the stupid boxes?
> 11. She sees no difference in performance in her internet usage. So all kaching! $$$ with no benefit whatsoever. 
> 
> She brought pictures to show us and it wasn't nice. We had a long discussion about elderly people (it's a rather elderly group, with even more elderly parents!) not being even aware of this change and the loss of their traditional landlines. The reason they may not be aware is that NBN is only putting letterbox drops of really bland junkmail looking cards. The print is so small, I doubt many could even read it.
> 
> This is so poorly planned (or not) in terms of impact, someone should lose their jobs over it, and not the last mob who did, but the new mob who seem to think they know better. 
> 
> Anyone on Link who has the ear of the people doing this project? Consumers, at least this person who is moderately tech savvy, aren't happy.
> 
> Jan
> 
> 
> I write books. http://janwhitaker.com/?page_id=8
> 
> Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
> jwhit at janwhitaker.com
> Twitter: <https://twitter.com/JL_Whitaker>JL_Whitaker
> Blog: www.janwhitaker.com 
> 
> Sooner or later, I hate to break it to you, you're gonna die, so how do you fill in the space between here and there? It's yours. Seize your space. 
> ~Margaret Atwood, writer 
> 
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