My Spark/Chorus UFB install so far

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shortcircuit

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Topic # 191312 31-Jan-2016 19:20

I've been following Darthkermit and a few others on here with their attempts at getting fibre installed and I just thought it would be enlightening to show how mine is going.

This is all a bit tongue in cheek and to be fair, I pretty much expected the runaround and I was trying to mitigate stuffing around as much as possible by getting all the ducks in a row early re the consent.

Let's just say that I have not been disappointed by Spark and Chorus lack of co-ordination. It really is like wading through quicksand.

So- after having a few issues with the broadband connection (like lightning hitting the local exchange and Chorus apparently not telling Spark), I watched with baited breath as the Chorus men hooked up the little black boxes in our street that I knew were the fibre thingies I'd longed for.

8/12/15 lodged an on-line Body Corp consent form with Chorus (I'm the body Corp secretary for 3 units) and received automated e-mail confirmation... all go... or so I thought.

I regularly checked Spark's web site to see if they knew the little fibre cable was ready to be hooked-up, but no, even though several other internet providers were in the know and slipped tempting offers into my old fashioned mail box on the street, Spark hadn't heard the news.

This inspired me to check Chorus web site and, yes- Chorus said the fibre thingie was waiting for me to hook up.

I checked Spark's web site again- appeared broken, so I spoke to Spark and the guy did a manual search. Yes, fibre is available- all I needed to do was to provide consent and maybe in a about a month we could be hooked up. I advised I had done an on-line consent in December but the guy said there was no record of it, so I should talk to Chorus.

16/1. Then I got an automated e-mail from Spark saying “The fibre installers have figured out where the new lines need to go, but have to get permission from affected parties” Strange, I thought- no-ones been on my property.

Tried to call Chorus, but they didn't want to talk, so I e-mailed them and received a nice (automated) e-mail to say they would get back to me within two days.

Sure enough 2 days later received an e-mail from Chorus Customer Care saying they don't deal with the consents, I had to call another company- phone number attached. It was a complete fob-off.

Called the 'consent' company, spoke to a nice guy who tried to help, but said they had no record of the consent form. I advised that Chorus had e-mailed me confirmation of the lodged consent in December so forwarded that to him. He said the consent hadn't come through and might be 'somewhere in the system' so would note on the job for him to handle the consent when it came through 'in the next week'.

Couple of days later get a call from someone at the same company- they had just received my consent form (I guess from Chorus after all) and wanted to confirm the details etc. I explained that someone else there had flagged it for his attention since I spoke with him and he knew what was going on. The woman said she didn't see the note but no problem, she would process the consent.

I then get an e-mail from the same woman saying that I needed to confirm in writing that I was giving consent for Chorus to install on the property.

I e-mailed her the details again that were in the original on-line consent.

22/1. I get an automated e-mail from Spark saying, “Good news, the installers have the consents they need... the local fibre company will be in touch...”

Great I thought, then I looked at the Spark 'progress' page only to find that it said 'waiting for consent' again.

I threw my hands in the air and went to get the snail mail, only to find a nice flyer from Spark in the box to trumpet that 'Fibre is now available in my street'... along with my phone bill and a charge of $137.00 to get a technician from Chorus out last month- despite me telling their call center in the Philippines and the technician that I had the same fault previously when the exchange got hit by lightning. That obviously all fell on deaf ears.

31/1. I'm Still waiting for a technician to get in touch from Chorus. Considering we might not be past the consent stage yet it looks like that guy from Spark was right about 'Maybe a month away'.

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Meow
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Reply # 1482394 31-Jan-2016 19:28

This is quite widespread (have a look at my blog post here). I had to wait 3 months for my UFB installation.

1) Chorus came around, did their inspection w/ my landlord and advised that they'll need to get a shared driveway consent. My landlord advised he owns the complete driveway however Chorus wouldn't listen (setback 1).
2) Chorus came back again, did yet another inspection (what?!) and advised the same thing. I advised the landlord owns the driveway.
3) Landlord got sick of Chorus, got his sparkies to install the hybrid cable internally in the house out to the demarcation point and paid for it out of his own pocket hoping to speed it up for me since Chorus were moaning how it would be a hassle to install internally.
4) Reschedule after reschedule - a total of 26 of these went on for the final installation. I phoned Chorus numerous times to get a straight answer out of them and to get the installation fast-tracked. No success.
5) Phoned my ISP - said hybrid cable has been installed and Chorus just need to run it out from the street, advised Landlord owned the complete rights to the driveway etc. My ISP then fast-tracked it to an installation that week.
6) (3mo later) Chorus finally installed my UFB.

Honestly, you just need to keep on top of Chorus / your ISP for an installation. Don't get upset with them as this doesn't work. Just be patient and "try" and push it forward as quickly as you can. It is so annoying but in the end it'll pay off once your ONT is installed.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
A quick guide to picking the right ISP | The Router Guide | Community UniFi Cloud Controller | Ubiquiti Edgerouter Tutorial

shortcircuit

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Reply # 1482401 31-Jan-2016 19:39

Agreed, patience is my middle name, but I have neighbours who got quite excited when I said we might get fibre (we all own the units individually but I'm the Body Corp secretary). The reality is that I already have passable ADSL (when it doesn't get 'hit by lightning'), so waiting is an option.

I'm just pretty speechless at how disorganized it all is.

michaelmurfy

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Reply # 1482402 31-Jan-2016 19:41

shortcircuit:

Agreed, patience is my middle name, but I have neighbours who got quite excited when I said we might get fibre (we all own the units individually but I'm the Body Corp secretary). The reality is that I already have passable ADSL (when it doesn't get 'hit by lightning'), so waiting is an option.

I'm just pretty speechless at how disorganized it all is.

Compared to my first experience with getting UFB (which was a week total from inspection to installation) to now I feel Chorus are just far too busy to get all the installations done in a timely manner.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
A quick guide to picking the right ISP | The Router Guide | Community UniFi Cloud Controller | Ubiquiti Edgerouter Tutorial

DarthKermit

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Reply # 1482459 31-Jan-2016 21:43

Sorry to hear how bad your experience has been. The two guys from Chorus who often post on here (InstallerUFB and chorusNZ) both seem to be away presently so have not been around to give any inside knowledge of processes/problems. Hopefully they'll be back onboard soon.

Mine's been almost trouble free, just a few issues with vodafone that were dealt with over the phone relatively quickly.

Tomorrow is my big day, so hopefully it'll go well.

Speaking to the Chorus tech who was here last Wed, he said that he didn't think there were enough guys employed to do all the work around Palmy anyway.

Every time Chorus liven up another UFB cabinet around the country, there are potentially about another 300 (I think he said 300) customers who may want a UFB connection.

Obviously they're not all going to be asking for it they day it goes live, but over time there is more and more potential install work to be done I would think.

shortcircuit

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Reply # 1482471 31-Jan-2016 21:58

DarthKermit:

Sorry to hear how bad your experience has been. The two guys from Chorus who often post on here (InstallerUFB and chorusNZ) both seem to be away presently so have not been around to give any inside knowledge of processes/problems. Hopefully they'll be back onboard soon.

Mine's been almost trouble free, just a few issues with vodafone that were dealt with over the phone relatively quickly.

Tomorrow is my big day, so hopefully it'll go well.

Speaking to the Chorus tech who was here last Wed, he said that he didn't think there were enough guys employed to do all the work around Palmy anyway.

Every time Chorus liven up another UFB cabinet around the country, there are potentially about another 300 (I think he said 300) customers who may want a UFB connection.

Obviously they're not all going to be asking for it they day it goes live, but over time there is more and more potential install work to be done I would think.

I've noticed the guys from Chorus have been helpful when things have stalled. I'm in Auckland and it just seems like I'm dealing with a 'faceless entity' when it comes to Chorus... even their e-mails from Customer Care are generic/anonymous or just automated replies.

I think they need to do a lot more as a business to 'connect' with their customers.

I hope your install goes well DarthKermit

shortcircuit

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Reply # 1484322 3-Feb-2016 13:30

2/2 e-mailed Chorus to see if Spark/consent company had actually sent the request for the install to Chorus. Another automated e-mail reply from Chorus.... annnnnd waiting

Wheelbarrow01

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Reply # 1484337 3-Feb-2016 13:45

shortcircuit:

2/2 e-mailed Chorus to see if Spark/consent company had actually sent the request for the install to Chorus. Another automated e-mail reply from Chorus.... annnnnd waiting

Has spark actually provided you with an order number at any point? There is no mention of this in your original post - it just says you spoke to a guy at Spark who did a manual search and suggested you speak to Chorus regarding consent - but no mention that an order requesting a fibre installation was actually ever placed.

Without that, nothing is happening. If you have an order number, let me know what it is via private message and I can find out what the status is. But from reading your original post, Chorus appear to be dealing with you as the body corp secretary for consenting purposes, not as an end customer who has an installation order in the system.

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

shortcircuit

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Reply # 1484519 3-Feb-2016 16:02

Received an e-mail response from Chorus. I had asked them directly if Spark had contacted them to get the install underway and they fobbed me off yet again.

"Please note that all requests relating to your fibre order is the responsibility of your service provider... They will be able to keep you updated regarding progress of your order"

Hopefully the great Wheelbarrow1 can let me know what's actually going on

DarthKermit

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Reply # 1484617 3-Feb-2016 17:44

shortcircuit:

"Please note that all requests relating to your fibre order is the responsibility of your service provider... They will be able to keep you updated regarding progress of your order"

Bugger that fob off. In my case, I phoned the local Downer office and asked them to get the tech whom I'd dealt with to phone me back.

Wheelbarrow01

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Reply # 1485017 4-Feb-2016 09:25

shortcircuit:

Received an e-mail response from Chorus. I had asked them directly if Spark had contacted them to get the install underway and they fobbed me off yet again.

"Please note that all requests relating to your fibre order is the responsibility of your service provider... They will be able to keep you updated regarding progress of your order"

Hopefully the great Wheelbarrow1 can let me know what's actually going on

I prefer to think of myself as 'Wheelbarrow the Magnificent'* I have confirmed an order does exist, the consent process is complete, and the OP's order is under action with the Chorus network build team, so he should start to see some progress in the coming weeks.

*Not actually true. May cause drowsiness. Some settling may occur in transit. Not available in all areas. If symptoms persist, please consult your doctor.

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

shortcircuit

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Reply # 1491776 13-Feb-2016 20:37

Definitely Magnificent Seemingly the 1st (and it's looking like the last) person who knows what's going on.

I came home yesterday to find a man in a safety vest and wheelie measuring thing in the driveway. He was from Chorus checking out (apparently) where to cut the driveway to lay the fibre cable.

I suggested that our preference would be to run the cable down the back of the units where the POTS line goes- the preferred option mentioned on the Chorus web site, or if that didn't work run the cable along the fence line (also as per the nice diagrams on the web site), but he told me that 'there is a new law' and Chorus are no longer allowed to do that. He also mentioned that the consent was only to to do work in the 'communal' driveway, so that's where the cable should go.

Looks like I convinced him to try using the pipe for the old phone line as the Fibre box is on a telephone pole 3 feet from the old phone terminal and he measured down to the old grey POTS junction box behind the units and drew some diagrams.

So... he said that someone else from Chorus would e-mail me then probably come and to see if the old line ducting can be used. He couldn't give me any indication when that might happen and told me that some people are waiting 8 months for a fibre install.

As it's been exactly a month since the consent went through, I think that was supposed to make me feel that things are progressing well... 1 month (so far) instead of 8 months.

We'll wait and see what happens next

shortcircuit

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Reply # 1492783 15-Feb-2016 18:30

I had a phone call today from a Chorus person telling me that they are going to route the fibre cable across the front of the section (cutting across the drive), down the outside of the driveway then cut (three) channels across the drive to each unit.

I pointed out that we preferred the fibre went behind the units where the old phone lies go. This seems most sensible because the power pole holding the fibre box is 3 feet from the POTS terminal and the other end is outside the two units wanting fibre.

I was told that the fibre must go along the driveway, despite it being the other side of the section and that Chorus will not fit a fibre terminal outside the back of the 2nd unit because Chorus will be 'trespassing'. I pointed out that I had given consent as a Body Corp to allow access to all properties (as the consent form Chorus wrote noted), I also pointed out that the occupiers of the 2nd unit have requested fibre and they would agree to having a fibre terminal in the same place as the old POTs terminal behind the units.

I got nowhere requesting that I be put on to a supervisor, in fact the woman repeatedly ignored my request and told me she had already talked to her manager and it was only when I suggested that it was getting too hard to connect to fibre that she relented a bit and said that they would see if the 2nd unit had consented or applied to install fibre then someone will 'get back to me'.

Just sounds to me like Chorus are hell bent on doing what they want and not considering the owners of the property.

If they don't come up with a workable solution I think it will be time to pull the plug on the fibre upgrade

MikeAqua

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Reply # 1492790 15-Feb-2016 19:07

Sounds similar to my experience. A lot of misinformed people and left hand not knowing what right hand is doing.

I eventually stopped caring and it eventually got done.

Mike

Jase2985

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Reply # 1492953 16-Feb-2016 05:30

shortcircuit:

I had a phone call today from a Chorus person telling me that they are going to route the fibre cable across the front of the section (cutting across the drive), down the outside of the driveway then cut (three) channels across the drive to each unit.

I pointed out that we preferred the fibre went behind the units where the old phone lies go. This seems most sensible because the power pole holding the fibre box is 3 feet from the POTS terminal and the other end is outside the two units wanting fibre.

I was told that the fibre must go along the driveway, despite it being the other side of the section and that Chorus will not fit a fibre terminal outside the back of the 2nd unit because Chorus will be 'trespassing'. I pointed out that I had given consent as a Body Corp to allow access to all properties (as the consent form Chorus wrote noted), I also pointed out that the occupiers of the 2nd unit have requested fibre and they would agree to having a fibre terminal in the same place as the old POTs terminal behind the units.

I got nowhere requesting that I be put on to a supervisor, in fact the woman repeatedly ignored my request and told me she had already talked to her manager and it was only when I suggested that it was getting too hard to connect to fibre that she relented a bit and said that they would see if the 2nd unit had consented or applied to install fibre then someone will 'get back to me'.

Just sounds to me like Chorus are hell bent on doing what they want and not considering the owners of the property.

If they don't come up with a workable solution I think it will be time to pull the plug on the fibre upgrade

@ChorusNZ

andrew027

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Reply # 1492996 16-Feb-2016 08:29

shortcircuit: I got nowhere requesting that I be put on to a supervisor, in fact the woman repeatedly ignored my request and told me she had already talked to her manager and it was only when I suggested that it was getting too hard to connect to fibre that she relented a bit and said that they would see if the 2nd unit had consented or applied to install fibre then someone will 'get back to me'.

Just sounds to me like Chorus are hell bent on doing what they want and not considering the owners of the property.

If they don't come up with a workable solution I think it will be time to pull the plug on the fibre upgrade

My street is not due for fibre for some time yet, but I "enjoy" reading these threads in the hope that I will learn something to ease my install when it's available. I might be wrong, but I get an overwhelming impression that techs are opting for the quickest (and cheapest?) solutions they can find, even if that means leaving homeowners living with ugly cabling choices marring their property or suboptimal equipment location potentially degrading wifi performance. What I can't figure out is whether this is laziness on the installers' part or a directive from higher up to save time and money due to the sheer volume of work.

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