Read the fine print before signing up to NBN
A Riverina IT expert has reminded people to read the fine print, as complaints about the National Broadband Network (NBN) continue to grow.
NBN customers across the region have complained about phones being cut off for weeks on end, slow services and even problems lodging a complaint.
According to the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman, delays in connections to the network, faults including unusable services and dropouts were regularly reported.
However, Veritech owner Livio Mazzon said while there were teething problems with the rollout, the technology behind the NBN was fundamentally solid.
“Some people say the NBN is poorly thought out but the fibre optic cable in the ground is future-proofed,” Mr Mazzon said.
“I’ve seen tests of speeds up to 17 terrabytes per second over fibre and any future upgrade from 100 megabit to one gigabit speeds could just be a case of a simple flick of the switch.”
Originally hailed as Labor’s once-in-a-lifetime infrastructure project, the NBN became a political football during the 2013 federal election and was subsequently changed from its fibre-optic vision to a cheaper version that included satellites, wireless connections and old copper phone lines.
While the change to a “technology mix” meant more people could get connected in a shorter timeframe, it also led to differences in speeds and confusion among many residents.
“It was about how to get the most houses hooked up in the shortest amount of time,” Mr Mazzon said.
“You can hook up the end of a street (with fibre-to-the-node) and do 30 houses in the time it would take you to do one house (with fibre-to-the-premises).
“It’s not just one technology, there’s a mix of satellites, fixed wireless and wired connections.”
While most major towns in the Riverina are connected to the NBN, smaller centres like Darlington Point, Hay, Carrathool and Grong Grong are yet to come online. Town centres will be connected to fibre-to-the-node from March, but outlying areas may need to wait for wireless or satellite connections.
Some areas, like Wagga suburb Springvale, will see the latest fibre-to-the-curb technology rolled out, which is expected to improve connection speeds over fibre-to-the-node.
Customers connected to the NBN via satellite can get speeds of up to 25mbps while fixed wireless customers can get 50mbps and fibre-optic customers can get 100mbps. But the cost of those services vary wildly, which has led to a push for more transparency from service providers.
“You need to check what’s included when you sign up,” Mr Mazzon said.
“If you go for the cheapest you won’t get the battery backups or the fastest connection.
“You can always get a better service, but you will have to pay for it.”
Article and photo courtesy of The Area News