Chorus / Spark fibre install

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PhilZealand

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#224097 2-Nov-2017 10:02

Just a query, who is the best government department/minister to write to about fibre installs...

Storyt short... I seem to be in an endless loop of getting notices that my fibre final install is being installed on 'xx' and that I must be home for it for the last 9 or so months, the pole is 4m away from and outside my front door in Browns Bay. All my neighbours have fibre installed, including one to the very same pole in front of my door just over a year ago. I have already taken several days off work now for the 'final install' to happen and on the day - and a couple of times, after the day I get an email saying the install has been re-scheduled. It seems like I have been caught up in the 1990's movie the Truman Show!

- Phil.

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#1894088 2-Nov-2017 10:09

@ChorusNZ might be able to advise what is going on send them a DM here on Geekzone

Do you own or rent the property and is it down a shared driveway? You don't need a goverment department you need to know why from the company doing the install

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DarkShadow

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#1894098 2-Nov-2017 10:17

If you're getting desperate, that would be Clare Curran, Minister for Communications.

PhilZealand

13 posts

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#1894107 2-Nov-2017 10:33

Hi Linux,

Thanks for the quick reply.

Have spoken to Spark who contact Chorus many times, and also direct chorus, seems to be a dead end - I know the problem, it is that a tree further down the road on roading reserve 'needs trimming', the original scope said it is routine, they get the council to do it and the install will go ahead in 3-4 weeks. When I inquire, it is 'under way' for the last ages of months, the tree has been there for many years, longer than the 25 years I have owned the property, and didn't seem to stop the installs for the other neighbours which got an install within a few weeks of booking (yes, one of them, my neighbour to the very same pole 4m directly outside my front door that seems impossible to reach now!) It goes from a loop of 'have you got resource consent yet to trim the trees on your' property - of which I correct them every time that there are no trees on my property - reaffirming when the Chorus guys come out, I specifically ask (and recorded last time) about the shrubbery and they say the shrubbery in front of my door is not of concern, As I mention, I am in a continuous 'Truman' loop. I feel it is time to seek an authority above Chorus. It doesn't take 9 months for them to get the trees trimmed - even if they have to get resource consent to do so. My original request for high-speed internet was over a year ago and took them 3 months to sort out that all of a sudden, after 1/4 of a century my address was wrong in their system which beggars belief as they seemed to have no problem posting bills to me back in the days of snail-mail - but I digress!

Regards,

Phil.

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#1894110 2-Nov-2017 10:36

I would still send @ChorusNZ a DM here on Geekzone and get them to follow-up why it's taking so long

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Wheelbarrow01

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#1894165 2-Nov-2017 11:36

Hi @PhilZealand,

Can you please send me a private message with your order reference number and/or Spark account number? I can then look into it for you and, if appropriate, escalate this to Chorus. If it's already under escalation I will raise it to the next level.

On the address issue, I suspect your billing address has always been correct, but your service address in ICMS (the system used by Spark and Chorus for copper provisioning) may have always been wrong (ie not legally correct), because from an historical point of view, there was no legal validation of addresses.This means anyone with ICMS access could create an address in the system regardless of whether it actually existed or not, and then connect a phone service there. This resulted in a lot of addresses set up as say 10b when it should have been 2/10 - that's just an example, but typical of the issues we come across these days.

The crux of it is that Spark's fibre provisioning platform uses an address database which only contains legal, council validated addresses. So when shifting an existing phone number with a legally invalid address from copper to fibre, the current address won't appear in the fibre database, meaning fibre cannot be ordered. The address must first be legally verified and updated on the existing copper services before fibre can be ordered. It's a convoluted process, but the idea is that all the historically incorrect addresses will eventually be weeded out, and we'll be left with only accurate and legally correct information in our address database.

[EDIT: Added general address info above]

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd

chevrolux

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#1894252 2-Nov-2017 13:23

You would probably get further whinging to Stuff/Herald.

This sort of problem has been around since day one and Chorus (and the other LFC's to be fair) don't seem to care - because nothing ever changes. If they actually cared something decent would have been done. This law change seems to have helped slightly, but still plenty of hold ups purely from stupid procedural and bureaucratic issues.

sbiddle

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#1894324 2-Nov-2017 16:16

Who's property is the tree on? If the install can't proceed because of a tree then Chorus aren't arborists so dion't trim trees - if it's on council land it'll be a case of waiting for them to trim it.

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PhilZealand

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#1894441 2-Nov-2017 20:52

The trees are on Council land / roading reserve, it seems that 9 months is an awful long time to wait for them to be trimmed. As you say, Chorus aren't arborists, but it is their lines that the trees are growing through and they that said 9 months ago that it would only take a few weeks for them to arrange with Council for the trimming. It looks like @Wheelbarrow01 has the ability to help get something moving so I am waiting a little longer to see what happens.

MurrayM

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#1894515 3-Nov-2017 08:03

PhilZealand:

As you say, Chorus aren't arborists, but it is their lines that the trees are growing through and they that said 9 months ago that it would only take a few weeks for them to arrange with Council for the trimming.

Maybe that's their way of saying that it will take them (Chorus) a few weeks to write a letter to the council to ask them to trim the trees. After that it has to bounce around council until it gets to the right people and then they have to send someone out to look at it and decide if they really should do it, maybe write up an impact report which then has to be ciculated around all affected parties and approval gained from everyone, maybe local iwi have to be asked (could be a taniwha living nearby that might not like it), then the job has to be scheduled, then more time until someone actually turns up to do the job.

puggy

66 posts

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#1900632 14-Nov-2017 13:09

Sound like as bad as my connection, use the following email to contact government about bad UFB installs they have been very responsive for me and in getting info out of Chorus, Broadband@mbie.govt.nz

Lias

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#1900693 14-Nov-2017 14:14

A midnight visit to the tree with a drill and some glyphosate should do the trick...

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Behodar

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#1900699 14-Nov-2017 14:56

Lias:

A midnight visit to the tree with a drill and some glyphosate should do the trick...

There is no need to wake up everyone in the street by drilling at midnight. Just put up a couple of cones and wear some high-vis stuff, then you'll be able to do it in the middle of the day without anyone batting an eye.