Sketchy NBN rollout in northern suburbs leave households on lengthy internet service waitlists

HOUSEHOLDS in Melbourne’s north are being forced to wait months for a basic internet service while their neighbours across the road enjoy brand-new connections to the NBN.

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RESIDENTS in Melbourne’s northern suburbs are being forced to wait months for even a basic internet service while their neighbours across the road enjoy brand new connections to the NBN.

Unlucky households who connect to the Coburg or Reservoir exchanges are being signed up by internet service providers, but then told they need to wait for ports to become available, and added to a months-long waitlist.

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Meanwhile just down the road in Fawkner and Preston, more than 500 ports are available via the NBN-enabled Preston exchange.

An Eric St Preston homeowner, who asked not to be named, said it was “ridiculous” they were being told to wait months for a connection.

“This is Australia. We shouldn’t have to use our mobile phones to get an internet connection,” the homeowner said.

Residents on the north side of Eric St are being forced to ring around providers to see if any of them offer a connection, while those on the south side can get immediate service through the NBN.

NBN Co are promising to release more “Ready to Connect” dates for approximately 440,000 new premises across Australia in coming days, but would not comment on specific residences.

Information on the NBN Co website simply tells residents when work has started on providing the service, but no specifics are offered other than a complete Australia-wide rollout by 2020.

Telstra general manager Steve Tinker said Telstra were continuing to invest in local infrastructure throughout the NBN rollout, including a service upgrade at the Fawkner exchange, but the upgrade was only to improve services for existing customers and would not increase the number of ports available.

Official complaints about the NBN rose 203 per cent in the second half of 2017, with customers complaining about poor service and delayed connections on the network.

More: nbnco.com.au