Unsolicited Parcels from Spark - time wasters

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Unsolicited Parcels from Spark - time wasters - get them redundant

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#2728616 14-Jun-2021 17:37

SomeoneSomewhere: TV/radio/newspaper ads. At least there needs to be a bloody big sign on the box saying why it's important.

I agree. This is continuing to catch some people by surprise including RUKI. Something is missing from the communication.

networkn

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#2728618 14-Jun-2021 17:48

It took 30 minutes on chat to get to the bottom of the parcel that one customer got. This despite all the reference numbers including the phone number it was obviously for. They kept saying to go to a store. The information on why it was sent out was pretty basic.

It should really have had a yellow bit of paper with important stamped on the top, explaining exactly what it was, and why the customer had gotten it, despite having not requested it.

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#2728621 14-Jun-2021 18:04

@sbiddle:

Many of these modems are being sent out to elderly people because they are copper landline only customers and their copper landline will be shutdown and a Spark FWA modem is the replacement (unless they want to get UFB installed.

If you ignore this you face the very real risk that they will have no means of communication once the shutdown occurs, with the next big phase of these occuring on 30th September.

Lots of people seem to be forgetting the fact the NEAX shutdown will be in full force next near and there won't be copper landlines left towards the end of next year.

Yeagh, except communication seem to be really bad.

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#2728636 14-Jun-2021 18:56

I'm pretty sure I knew all about the CDMA switchoff despite not being with Spark and I'm not even sure I had a phone. That's the level of pervasive messaging Spark needs to be pushing, if not more.

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#2728638 14-Jun-2021 19:02

CDMA switch off was nationwide at the same time, and was a very popular service at the time it was announced that it was being turned off.

This is a niche service typically used by people that are hard to communicate with, area by area where not everyone will be losing service simultaneously and there will be many high maintenance customers to migrate over to a current service.

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#2728643 14-Jun-2021 19:14

freitasm:

@sbiddle:

Many of these modems are being sent out to elderly people because they are copper landline only customers and their copper landline will be shutdown and a Spark FWA modem is the replacement (unless they want to get UFB installed.

If you ignore this you face the very real risk that they will have no means of communication once the shutdown occurs, with the next big phase of these occuring on 30th September.

Lots of people seem to be forgetting the fact the NEAX shutdown will be in full force next near and there won't be copper landlines left towards the end of next year.

Yeagh, except communication seem to be really bad.

While communication may seem bad, it is honest

From https://www.spark.co.nz/shop/landline/landline-migration/ - They Acknowledge you can go to someone else

Unlike Vodafone https://www.vodafone.co.nz/help/broadband-and-tv/beyond-spark-pstn-closure - A Fabricated, scaremongering lie

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2728644 14-Jun-2021 19:21

I haven't seen any recent estimates, but it looks like around 400k still active. That's hardly small, especially when you consider some of those will serve multiple people.

There's nothing wrong with prematurely moving people off PSTN or teaching them how to check if they are still on PSTN.

I thought there was a number you could dial that told you which provider you were using for long-distance calls but it looks like I'm imagining that; nonetheless; I'm imagining a number that when called would read back your number and tell you that either a) your exchange will be disestablished on x date; please call your provider for options, or b) you are already calling from VoIP/mobile/other and do not need to worry.

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#2728646 14-Jun-2021 19:25

SomeoneSomewhere:

I haven't seen any recent estimates, but it looks like around 400k still active

400k was June/July last year when they announce the MIR4/MIR5 NEAX shutdown (which by the way was supposed to be Shutdown December 2020 and is still running)

My guess it is around the 300k mark now

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Oblivian

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#2728649 14-Jun-2021 19:35

SomeoneSomewhere:

I'm pretty sure I knew all about the CDMA switchoff despite not being with Spark and I'm not even sure I had a phone. That's the level of pervasive messaging Spark needs to be pushing, if not more.

We didn't all have computers in our hands for people to exploit and make everyone that isn't savvy super paranoid. You even took the word of people who knocked on your door.

Now. To the average elderly or joe at home..

Unsolicited phonecall - you can't trust it's not a scam

Solicited phonecall - you can't trust it's not a scam

Unsolicited door knock - you can't trust it's not a scam

In an envelope - you can't trust it's not a scam (or take any notice)

In an email - you can't trust it's not a scam

In a txt - you can't trust it's not a scam

TV - you don't get all the selected market

Radio - you don't get the selected market

Sent to your home - you abuse them for not asking for it and threaten to bin the possibly only means of connection once yours meets it's demise.

It's 2021. People might confuse it as a great idea to use the tech in place for advertising being the sign of the times. The rest of the country doesn't trust or believe it.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#2728699 14-Jun-2021 19:39

CDMA wasn't that long ago; 2012: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/telecom-nz-set-for-cdma-switch-off-310329

300k users a few months before switchoff.

If you send the message down one channel once or twice, sure. If you send it through every channel including the front cover of the local paper, it's a lot more likely people will take it seriously.

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#2728701 14-Jun-2021 19:46

SomeoneSomewhere:

CDMA wasn't that long ago; 2012: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/telecom-nz-set-for-cdma-switch-off-310329

300k users a few months before switchoff.

If you send the message down one channel once or twice, sure. If you send it through every channel including the front cover of the local paper, it's a lot more likely people will take it seriously.

Most of those 300k were prepay burn phones in customers glove-boxes

CDMA shutdown would have happened sooner but the XT Network suffered several, half day outages resulting in it getting delayed and several members of Alcatel-Lucent handing in their resignation

Vodafone's GSM network shutdown is the next issue, 100s of 1000s of dataloggers all over the country use it

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snnet

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#2728704 14-Jun-2021 19:53

So far the people i've encountered getting these modems it's generally come with a knock at the door - so they are doing that at least in some areas, not just sending a package out to everyone

I do wonder though what will happen with those who can't get fibre, have zero cellphone coverage even with an aerial for a 4g modem but have a perfectly good copper line... I guess they'll be forced onto something like starlink or similar

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#2728706 14-Jun-2021 20:04

SomeoneSomewhere:

CDMA wasn't that long ago; 2012: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/telecom-nz-set-for-cdma-switch-off-310329

300k users a few months before switchoff.

If you send the message down one channel once or twice, sure. If you send it through every channel including the front cover of the local paper, it's a lot more likely people will take it seriously.

Like, Jan. And then most the papers/online articles In February?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124317060/first-copper-phone-services-to-be-cut-from-september-under-chorus-plan

https://www.chorus.co.nz/copper-network

What he said. CDMA was all access mobile bonus if I recall. And in 2012 although there was more phones than population, only about half had smartphone capable. Sales for XT skyrocketed in those early years that people went for instead based on what it could do. Since then, smart ones and the exposure people have had to warnings and scams have come a long way.

Anyway, we digress. CDMA was less a niche demographic compared to today, that was going to effect people in a short space so all the stops were pulled. Now were talking a different niche market that have likely had a landline for ~70 years, and never changed or may see why they should/not understand. All the while being told by their family not to believe anything.

It's likely going to take younger understanding family and friends to help them figure out why this happen rather than flying off at the providers for trying to get to the straightest approach.

My local community page exploded recently with a fibre outage. Half the fibre only area didn't realise their phones were even VoIP. The rest couldn't work out how they had dialtone but no internet or ability to make calls.

It's going to take some persuading.

nztim

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#2728709 14-Jun-2021 20:06

snnet:

I do wonder though what will happen with those who can't get fibre, have zero cellphone coverage even with an aerial for a 4g modem but have a perfectly good copper line... I guess they'll be forced onto something like starlink or similar

Spark will do Baseband IP Voice where they don't have tower capacity to offer FWA or, where there is no mobile service at all, or the user is an xDSL user which would blow out data caps of FWA

However where they can avoid a migration to Baseband IP and moving customers to FWA they are

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

snnet

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#2728711 14-Jun-2021 20:09

nztim:

snnet:

I do wonder though what will happen with those who can't get fibre, have zero cellphone coverage even with an aerial for a 4g modem but have a perfectly good copper line... I guess they'll be forced onto something like starlink or similar

Spark will do Baseband IP Voice where they don't have tower capacity to offer FWA or, where there is no mobile service at all, or the user is an xDSL user which would blow out data caps of FWA

However where they can avoid a migration to Baseband IP and moving customers to FWA they are

So when copper is killed off and none of these services are available....... I suppose it would be in the minority, but still a bit annoying for those who are on dsl now potentially having none of that access pretty soon

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