New Subdivision Process

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cisconz

cisconz
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#284215 7-Apr-2021 21:00

I have been going through the process of subdividing my parent’s property and have been having some frustrating experiences with Chorus.

We started this process back in 2018 and as part of the subdivision process requested to install network services.

This was paid for and completed in copper as per Chorus’s request on the 8th November 2019.

This was installed as a plinth next to our duct to our subdivision.

In 2020, the Street was livened for UFB and so, I expected that this would have been included in the rollout.

So fast forward to this year and I ordered UFB back in January, Chorus came to site and found that the dropoff was missed to the plinth when installed. They left advising they would get it sorted on the street side.

Instead of doing this, Chorus have decided that this needs to go through the Overhead to underground conversion process (OHUG) at a cost of $1500 because their plans advise that the house should have been aerial.

After clarifying multiple times, I decided I would get VDSL installed first while I decide what we do about UFB.

This order has completed as service given with no lead in provided from the plinth to the house. I raised this as a fault and was told, “this has been referred back to originator, this is a new dwelling and no existing 049 lead, customer to apply for fibre”.

I am now at a loss of what to do here. We paid for “Network” to be provided to the subdivision, and now they want us to pay again, and refuse to connect the parts we have paid for.

Hmmmm

nztim

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#2688051 7-Apr-2021 21:08

@wheelbarrow01

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sparkz25

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#2688069 7-Apr-2021 22:48

This is going to be interesting!

Wheelbarrow01

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#2688070 7-Apr-2021 22:56

Hmmm there appears to be a couple of issues here.

For the copper reticulation, Chorus appears to have provided underground network capacity for the additional lot number/dwelling to the boundary (which you have paid for) however we don't provide the inside boundary (ISB) duct to actually complete the connection - the property owner/developer would be responsible for providing & installing that. Reading your post again I note you discuss "our duct" so it seems likely you've already done your part in that regard. Assuming that ISB duct is in place, then your RSP would still have needed to order a new connection with a truckroll in order for the ISB copper cable (aka service lead-in) to be installed in your duct and the connection completed in full by a Chorus technician. It appears this may not have happened, and your RSP may have simply requested activation with no site visit - although with no intact record that would be rare. I'd have to look at the order to confirm exactly what the situation is there, but happy to do so if you can supply the order reference number.

The situation with fibre looks like it also needs further investigation. Based on the photos provided, the original house appears to have an aerial copper lead-in and therefore an aerial pathway for fibre is likely to have been built for that particular house. It's hard to say what (if any) fibre network has been built for the newly created secondary lot number/dwelling. It's possible (and I am theorising here by the way) that there may have been a timing discrepancy between the time the fibre network was designed for this street, the time the subdivision was completed, and the time the fibre network was actually built. If the two newly created and separated Lot numbers did not already appear in council records at the time the fibre network was designed, it's possible no fibre network for the second dwelling has been built - because we didn't know about it or it didn't exist at the design stage. Designing the fibre network can occur years before the network is actually rolled out, so this is a possible cause. The part about OHUG is throwing me off a bit so will also need to look into that.

Apologies this is all theoretical at this point, but if you flick me a PM with the address details (and any order references you have for the copper & fibre orders), I am happy to get someone to look into it for you and see if we can find some answers to what's happened, and perhaps a way forward.

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

cisconz

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#2688134 8-Apr-2021 08:57

Wheelbarrow01:

For the copper reticulation, Chorus appears to have provided underground network capacity for the additional lot number/dwelling to the boundary (which you have paid for) however we don't provide the inside boundary (ISB) duct to actually complete the connection - the property owner/developer would be responsible for providing & installing that. Reading your post again I note you discuss "our duct" so it seems likely you've already done your part in that regard.

Yes that is correct, the Green duct taped to the copper plinth in the photo runs to the property ETP.

Wheelbarrow01:

Apologies this is all theoretical at this point, but if you flick me a PM with the address details (and any order references you have for the copper & fibre orders), I am happy to get someone to look into it for you and see if we can find some answers to what's happened, and perhaps a way forward.

Thanks - Email sent

Hmmmm

cisconz

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#2689727 9-Apr-2021 09:30

An update, With thanks to Simon, the errors have now been acknowledged and install is now booked for next week.

Hmmmm

Wheelbarrow01

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#2689730 9-Apr-2021 09:38

I'm happy to report that we should see a happy ending with this one. The situation as I understand it is that the subdivision took place around the time the fibre network was being designed and built. Our theory is that the design for communal fibre in the street was done before the subdivision commenced, meaning we were unaware of the necessity to cater for this new land parcel at that time, as it didn't exist.

Fast forward to 2020 when the communal fibre in the street was being built, and the new plot of land was noticed by the build team, but they didn't fully assess requirements and merely raised a question mark over the new address. There was unfortunately no in-depth investigation so an aerial drop was made on the closest pole, even though copper had been provided to the new address via an underground pathway in the intervening time.

Fast forward again to this fibre install request, and our frontline people just followed the standard business rules - "this is an aerial drop, but customer wants underground install so they will need to pay for OHUG conversion". What was overlooked is the fact that there is no physical way to deliver fibre aerially to this back section property at all - that should have been a flag that further investigation was required, but I rather suspect that nobody delved into it in enough detail.

Once I consulted with our network connect manager yesterday, he quickly saw the big picture and has immediately asked for the OHUG quote to be removed from the order. The fibre drop should have been undergrounded to the boundary to match copper, so we will now do this work to remediate the situation at Chorus expense.

Very much a unique set of circumstances leading up to this one, and a case of bad timing with regard to the subdivision and the design & build of the Chorus fibre network in the street. But thanks for giving us the opportunity to learn from this one. On behalf of Chorus I apologise to David and his RSP that we got this one wrong, and that it took so much effort to get someone to listen and take action.

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

nztim

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#2689815 9-Apr-2021 11:12

Wheelbarrow01:

On behalf of Chorus I apologise to David and his RSP that we got this one wrong, and that it took so much effort to get someone to listen and take action.

Thank you Simon for making yourself available on these forums!

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