Jan - sounds like your friend was on the wrong side of a dodgy installer, and Telstra management of the process. She should complain vigorously to Telstra and have them send a different tech back to relocate the unit to a better location and reinstate the formal lounge room - it has never been supposed to occur as this unfolded, and the installer should be counselled and subjected to further training.
Here is how it is supposed to work: http://www.nbnco.com.au/connect-home-or-business/information-for-home/fixed-line/installation.html http://www.nbnco.com.au/content/dam/nbnco2/documents/NBN581_Preparing%20for%20the%20NBN_OBB_Apr14_V7.pdf Telstra should have made documents and guides like this available to your friend well before the tech turned up to do the work. Yes, it needs to have a powerpoint - but many people already have one somewhere discreet in the house where the fibre units can be installed out of the way. Yes, there is some phone cabling required to make all the original phone points work, and this isn't included in the standard installation - but she should have been able to choose where in the house the fibre unit and battery goes, and these additional costs shouldn't have been a surprise. Paul. On 14/02/2015 11:31 AM, Jan Whitaker 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 > [email protected] > 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 > > _ __________________ _ > _______________________________________________ > Link mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
