Senator Deborah O’Neill has detailed to the Senate complaints filed on the Central Coast about the NBN.
Sen O’Neill said her office, as well as the Labor candidates in Robertson and Dobell, had received a spike in inquiries and complaints as the roll-out of the fi bre-to-the-node (FTTN) copper network continued. Complaints ranged from ongoing repairs to faulty copper lines, delays in receiving modems that leave users without phone or internet lines, and delays in receiving the NBN, to blame-shifting between Telstra and NBN Co for problems with the network.
“People across the Central Coast are sick to death of being ignored by NBN Co and are sick to death of the failing service that is being delivered to them that this government wants to call super-fast broadband,” Sen O’Neill told the Senate. The Senator detailed the specifi c cases of Central Coast residents Barry Egan, Mary Smith, Michelle Loaney and developer Bruce Manton, who had phoned or written to the candidates with continuing complaints about the FTTN network. Senate Estimates heard in mid-February that 60 complaints had been received by the opposition from early adopters of fi bre to the node network.
Senator O’Neill said the FTTP network delivered to Gosford before the Liberals were elected had meant businesses, such as NIB, had chosen Gosford over other centres that did not have the fi bre network. “Right in the middle of Gosford, where we do have the real NBN, we have jobs growth,” she said.
Media release, Feb 29, 2016 Scott Coomber, office of Deborah O’Neill