Trusted
My street does not currently have any physical fibre installed but I'm very interested in getting connected. Last year I asked Chorus whether this was possible. It seems that it can at least be investigated (my emphasis):
What normally happens is that you make a request for the service through your retail service provider (RSP), not through Chorus. Only RSPs can order services from Chorus.
They will let you know if you're included within our UFB areas and if we've released timings on our rollout. If you're outside of this area or want to have fibre ahead of the deployment then we can look into the feasibility of getting you connected - there can be costs associated with the investigation, but its up to your provider what costs they pass on.
I talked to Telecom Business and they gave me an indicative installation cost (which was surprisingly reasonable, but marked as not for disclosure) as well as a very expensive monthly fee for a business-grade plan. While I could nearly justify the installation, the monthly was too high.
Fast-forward to Telecom's residential offerings last week. I immediately contacted the residential helpdesk and requested that fibre be installed at my cost. I was told to talk to Chorus:
Unfortunately Telecom only deals with customers in which fibre is already available in the area. Anything outside this we refer customers to Chorus.
At this point I contacted Chorus and said that I'd like to pay for an installation ahead of the published date.
Unfortunately we are bound to our obligations to the government for the delivery of fibre and the dates are not subject to change.
This contradicts the first message which says that they can "look into the feasibility" of getting me connected. I've mentioned this to Chorus but that was a couple of days ago and I haven't heard anything yet.
Has anyone (other than Kim Dotcom!) successfully ordered an advance or out-of-area installation? How did you get on? Should I be chasing up Telecom or Chorus?
Thanks :)
Retired Mod
Biddle Corp
