I changed to Wireless Broadband recently.

Husband used to work for NZPost/Telecom back in the day. He installed the first NEAX stuff then left.

he says, why are we not paying Chorus now?(Or why isn't spark) As we are not connected by fibre or copper, but he says the cellphone towers must still connect to the exchanges and use the switching equipment.

Whether we personally have a modem plugged into a cable or not.

I can't tell him exactly how it all joins up now, I know there are cabinets more than exchanges now. Chorus owns the lines and Spark, Vodafone etc are retailers.

But specifically, how it joins up, who does what where, with the actual new NEAX type stuff, or whatever is used now, I don't know. Not my field.

So anyone that can do a Telecommunications Network 101 that I can show him?

He thinks they all still bumble about in the little exchanges around the place doing the sort of thing (except digitally now) that they used to.

I said they don't. They only go there if there is a fault or plugging someone in, and mainly copper at that.

He said where do they run it from then, and who does? Chorus or the various ISPs/ph cos?