LANDLINE services on Telstra’s copper wire networks have been cut to parts of Redland Bay, with Mount Cotton and parts of Capalaba next on the list.
The infrastructure is being closed as the federal government rolls out its national broadband network, which uses fibre optic cabling to transmit calls and data.
Telstra is required to stop services on their copper networks 18 months after an area is declared NBN ready but it is not known how many residents and businesses have been left in the lurch.
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An NBN Co spokesman said few Redland Bay premises had experienced formal disconnections, although he did not have total numbers - it is understood neither Telstra nor NBN keep those records.
“In areas that have gone through disconnection, around 4500 premises have activated NBN services from the total 5300 premises that are ready for service,” he said.
“This represents 86 per cent take-up compared to 75 per cent in the rest of the country.”
The spokesman said it was likely most of the 800 premises which had not migrated to the NBN in time had no landline service to begin with.
“This does not mean they had their previous Telstra service disconnected – more likely, they had no active fixed line service in place and used mobile only.”
One Telstra customer is known by Redland City Bulletin to have lost landline service when the area’s copper network was disconnected in November last year.
Redland Bay woman Joan Carpenter, 93, had no landline for seven weeks and her daughter, Christine Meehan, blamed Telstra.
Ms Meehan said Telstra failed to install a modem at her mother’s house on time, which was needed by Ms Carpenter to plug into her home’s fibre to the node broadband connection.
“Instead of doing what they were supposed to, they disconnected the phone,” she said.
A Telstra spokesman said the company were apologetic for the inconvenience caused to Ms Carpenter.
He said customers were issued with up to 12 notices six months before disconnection via email, door-to-door contact, outbound calls, text messages and recorded voice announcements.
NBN Co also sends five letters to residents in the 18 months after an area is declared NBN ready.
Mount Cotton is due to be disconnected from Telstra’s copper wire network in May and parts of Capalaba in July.
POWER OUTAGES
A known stumbling point is that fibre optic cabling does not transmit electricity like copper, which means broadband landline services can fail during blackouts.
NBN Co has encouraged residents hooked up to the NBN via fibre to the premise (FTTP) to ensure their modems are backed up by batteries.
Residents in homes connected to NBN via fibre to the node (FTTN) do not need this. Their home’s existing copper wires are connected to a nearby node, which should be set-up with battery backup.
The node is hooked into the national broadband network via fibre optic cabling.