TELSTRA says the “vast majority” of its customers have faced no issue connecting to the NBN in Bendigo, while NBN Co has acknowledged that some issues would be inevitable during the roll out.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Residents from Bendigo suburbs including Kangaroo Flat, Kennington, Strathdale, Golden Square and Flora Hill have spoken of the frustration in connecting to the NBN in the last six months.
NBN Co spokesperson Kasey Ellison said the scale of the project meant there were bound to be some issues for residents.
“When you are connecting thousands of homes and businesses every week, there will inevitably be issues with some individual premises along the way,” she said.
“We urge anyone that encounters an issue with their connection to contact their retail service provider in the first instance who will work with NBN to get it resolved as quickly as possible.
“We continue to work closely with the retail service providers and our delivery partners to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience for consumers.”
Kangaroo Flat couple Rod and Kerri Daw had been without regular phone or internet since October.
NBN Co said it was attempting to rectify the fault, and apologised “for the inconvenience this has caused”.
Strathdale resident Fred Goodwin claimed his solution was simple, but technicians had repeatedly failed to connect him to the NBN.
NBN Co said a technician would visit his premises today to have another look.
Kennington resident Rex Nancarrow was unable to connect to the NBN since February when a technician came to make the connection.
NBN Co said it was unaware of the issue at his address.
A Telstra spokesperson said Mr Nancarrow’s service “has been working”, they had provided him with a loan handset and would visit his premises again.
The spokesperson said their customers had largely made a smooth transition to the NBN.
“The vast majority of customers transitioning to the NBN do so without problems – however we do recognise there are some people that do experience difficulty,” he said.
“Where customers do contact us we will do our best to troubleshoot their issue, and work with NBN to resolve them.”
Federal communications minister Mitch Fifield refused to comment on the standard of the NBN roll out in Bendigo.