Is there any way to speed up the process of getting fibre?

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NZLion

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Topic # 198241 1-Jul-2016 16:20

I recently moved into an apartment, the previous tenants had fibre the whole building is wired for fibre, there's an ONT on the wall, and the previous tenants had a functioning connection. I naively assumed that this would enable the process to skip a few steps as clearly there's no consents required, and there's no physical installation required either.

I dutifully gathered the serial number off the ONT and provided that to my ISP, as they would need that detail to complete the process.

I was told that this would all take 5-30 days, which I thought was a ridiculously broad range.

After periodically following up with my ISP, it took two weeks for Chorus to even accept that the serial was valid - they had no record of it. I even provided its MAC address from a sticker on the back, but that didn't help. Eventually they worked out that the previous tenants had been connected via Vodafone, and decided that there really was a device there, but they couldn't move me over to it until the Vodafone connection was closed off. My ISP gave me a new connection ballpark of 10-15 days at this point, and advised that it would be another week before they could do anything as they had to wait for chorus to disconnect Vodafone and get things ready for them.

So I am 20 days in so far, and finally heard from Chorus directly today. They need to send someone to my place to ensure that the wiring and device are acceptable - the earliest this can be fit in is 2 weeks from now, after which they anticipate that it will be a further week before I can be connected.

If this timeline sticks, it will be 40 days from the initial request to having an internet connection at my new place.

This is in a place where:

No consent was necessary as installation had already been completed
No installation was necessary as it was already installed
The ONT was known to be working at the time when the initial request was made (shortly before I moved in)
I gave them the relevant information about the chorus-owned ONT at the start of the process to simplify the task

So my question is: is there anything humanly possible whenever anyone is getting fibre installed that can make the wait time even remotely acceptable? Because honestly I can't see what could possibly have been done to speed this up further and it's still taking almost 6 weeks.

Surely the experience can't be this bad for everyone?

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Reply # 1584181 1-Jul-2016 16:20

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

you have reset your modem and router
your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing - you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap
your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing
you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

Your ISP and plan
Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)
Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)
Your general location (or street)
If you are rural or urban
If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin
If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service
If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

Dolts

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Reply # 1584207 1-Jul-2016 16:48

I had a similar experience but not as bad as yours.

Moved house, ONT was there from previous tenant, called my ISP to get it connected assuming it would be a quick process as it was already there, I was told it could still take 1-2 weeks as Chorus had to do something at the exchange.

I was fine with that until I received my order form stating my preferred install date was 4 weeks from when I called, so I rang up my ISP and the CSR told me she would escalate my order and I received a txt saying my install date was in 7 days and someone needed to be home as the install can take up to 4 hours. No one turned up and no one contacted me to say I was connected, I just saw the ONT led blinking and tried the net and I was away.

The information you get can be pretty horrible and confusing.

Good luck

atomeara

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Reply # 1584383 1-Jul-2016 20:35

This seems odd, if it is still connected to Vodafone they should be able to find the ASID and just churn it right away.

This kind of thing seems to pop up on here from time to time and I don't know if there is something else at play because providers don't seem to do that but I have had a couple done without issue.

sbiddle

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Reply # 1584390 1-Jul-2016 20:45

With an ONT in place it *can* be possible to get a connection in as little as a couple of days. If it's a new connection on the 2nd port it's entirely possible that it can be done on the same day.

You situation sounds no different to a xDSL connection where an intact ASID is still provisioned to another RSP so the abandonment process has to be completed first. This is what takes all the time.

atomeara

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Reply # 1584392 1-Jul-2016 20:49

sbiddle:

With an ONT in place it *can* be possible to get a connection in as little as a couple of days. If it's a new connection on the 2nd port it's entirely possible that it can be done on the same day.

You situation sounds no different to a xDSL connection where an intact ASID is still provisioned to another RSP so the abandonment process has to be completed first. This is what takes all the time.

Can the winning ISP not just Churn it?

sbiddle

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Reply # 1584396 1-Jul-2016 21:12

One person supports this post

atomeara:

sbiddle:

With an ONT in place it *can* be possible to get a connection in as little as a couple of days. If it's a new connection on the 2nd port it's entirely possible that it can be done on the same day.

You situation sounds no different to a xDSL connection where an intact ASID is still provisioned to another RSP so the abandonment process has to be completed first. This is what takes all the time.

Can the winning ISP not just Churn it?

A churn is when a customer moves from being a customer of RSP A to RSP B. You can't churn a connection if it's not yours, hence the abandonment process having to be followed to have the connection being disconnected.

sultanoswing

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Reply # 1584404 1-Jul-2016 21:53

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In New Zealand, you *can* get faster UFB connections, but it involves quite a bit of fiddling about with quantum relativity, black holes, towels, babel fish and cucumber sandwiches.

In short, it's probably easier to simply pass the time observing the movements of tectonic plates.

DarkShadow

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Reply # 1584410 1-Jul-2016 22:21

99% of intact Chorus fibre connections can be done in 1-2 business days. What you experienced is very rare.

Normally you don't even need the serial number. Just look up the address in the Chorus system and you'll be able to find the ONT.

Cases of "missing ONTs" where you need to provide the serial number is very rare. And even in the vast majority of these cases you just need to call up Chorus with the serial number and they can look it up in a couple of minutes. Not being able to find the ONT with the serial number is quite unusual.

After you have found the ONT, and there is an active connection with another ISP, you can either churn it, or provision a new service on a second port. That takes 1-2 business days.

And finally, the reason Chorus is sending someone to your place to help you plug in your router is because your ISP asked them to. Other ISPs believe customers are perfectly capable of plugging the router into the ONT, so they would just ask Chorus to activate your ONT remotely, this means no delay in connecting you.

So in conclusion, it's a combination of really bad luck and a decision by your ISP that lead to your delay. The vast majority of connections aren't like this.

NZLion

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Reply # 1585417 4-Jul-2016 09:25

2Degrees hasn't asked anyone to come to my apartment, and the callcentre agents have no idea why chorus require physical access

DarthKermit

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Reply # 1585427 4-Jul-2016 09:48

Maybe to reprogram the ONT?

sbiddle

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Reply # 1585456 4-Jul-2016 10:36

DarthKermit:

Maybe to reprogram the ONT?

That's done remotely.

DarkShadow

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Reply # 1585788 4-Jul-2016 18:09

NZLion:

2Degrees hasn't asked anyone to come to my apartment, and the callcentre agents have no idea why chorus require physical access

They probably made the request without realising it. It's called CSE on the Chorus order. Do you know if the call center agents have access to the Chorus Portal?

Lorenceo

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Reply # 1585801 4-Jul-2016 18:59

What happens if you plug a device configured for DHCP on VLAN 10 into GE1? Does it get an IP address?

The process for removing an abandoned connection from a Chorus is ONT is "interesting".

Batman

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Reply # 1585840 4-Jul-2016 19:59

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NZLion:
2Degrees hasn't asked anyone to come to my apartment, and the callcentre agents have no idea why chorus require physical access

Without knowing very much, I'm thinking perhaps use an isp who knows what they're doing.

2degreesCare

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Reply # 1586176 5-Jul-2016 10:00

Hey NZLion,

Is this with 2degrees? Can you please PM us with your broadband customer number if so, so we can take a look in to this for you?

Typically, if everything is all matched up and correct in our wholesaler's system, an intact UFB connection (i.e. installed ONT, matched in the system and communicating correctly, no active services) will typically complete within 48 hours of the request being placed. We'd only request information such as the ONT serial number if our wholesaler has requested this information, and that could point towards a malfunctioning ONT, issues with the fibre light levels, an address records mismatch, or similar.

Thanks,

Ralph ^JOB

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