Dead phone lines, repeated call drop-outs, impossibly slow internet speeds, faulty modems and appointments not kept – these are some of the problems with the NBN being experienced by Mountains residents.
Dozens of readers contacted the Gazette after last week’s story about Alliance Electrical Wholesalers’ NBN woes.
Kate Ryder from Wentworth Falls, said her phone now failed regularly.
“Either we cannot get a dial tone, people who ring are given a false message that our number has been disconnected or when you answer the phone you cannot hear the person on the other end of the line… Without mobiles we would be struggling.”
Diane Mayhew from Wentworth Falls also had issues with her internet and phone dropping out.
“It’s a joke – the NBN is supposed to be faster – it’s slower now and keeps cutting out all the time.”
Many were unaware that with the NBN, the phone line becomes VOIP (voice over internet protocol) so if the internet goes down, so does the phone.
Joan Hailstone of Blackheath said her phone went during a recent blackout.
“A large number of us ‘oldies’ up here do not have mobile phones. When the power goes out we have no telephone service, which could be a disaster if someone has a fall or is taken ill.”
Andy Foster of Wentworth Falls said his NBN was ridiculously slow because Optus has not bought enough bandwidth to cope with demand.
“I wish I could switch back to ADSL and leave this nightmare behind.”
He said he had wasted four days waiting for technicians who failed to arrive. This was also the experience of Tom Colless from Katoomba, whose Telstra technician finally came on the fifth appointment.
It took Josie Paulton from Katoomba five unmet appointments before Southernphone fixed her landline.
Several people reported their back-to-base security systems were no longer working after the switchover.
Reverend Warwick Thomas of Wentworth Falls said his security company spent two hours repairing damage to his system.
“Phone dropouts up to 20 times a day, people have to phone twice as it drops out as we answer the phone, calls drop out in the middle of calls and no Wi-Fi naturally. The whole system is very unreliable and unsatisfactory.”
An NBN spokeswoman said “one complaint is one too many and we apologise for any inconvenience”.
She also said the size, scale and complexity of the project meant it was “not unrealistic” for problems to occur.
Telstra’s area general manager, Tricia Wilson, said some residents had experienced connectivity issues and “we apologise for this”.
She also said various factors could affect speeds, including distance from the exchange and the type of device being used.
Meanwhile, there was an overwhelming response on Facebook to Blaxland ADSL internet issues reported in last week’s Gazette.
“Try living in Winmalee. 1.5 mps at best when it works … and to top it off no mobile reception,” said Carl Turks Tyrer.
“The problem is not just in Blaxland, it is in the whole of the Mountains,” said Ann-Maree Kime.
In Glenbrook: “Telstra reported cockatoos had damaged the main cable. Their fix was taping a plastic shopping bag around the cable.”
