I will share what I know in relation to fibre in Chorus areas.
My understanding is that the consents process is a very complex issue. Once the service provider has requested fibre service for their end customer, the order is submitted to Chorus where is may be identified as being in a multiple dwelling unit or on a right of way. This can be the first roadblock as many people are unaware they are in this situation. A person could have their own standalone house with it's own driveway and still require consent if they are on a crosslease with their neighbour - such as an undivided share of the land.
If this is the case, the order is sent to Chorus Consents for the consent process to begin. This starts with Chorus identifying ownership of the affected properties. Chorus then write letters to all the owners requesting written permission to install the service. Some of these owners may be overseas which can add to the lead time while contact is established.
Other issues arise where one of the owners seek clarification of exactly what work is required. In any case, after all the necessary consents have been gained, the order proceeds to the scoping stage. At this point Chorus investigate and design how the network can be delivered to the target address. It is usually not a case of just bunging a cable in the ground however. In the majority of cases they seek a way to preinstall fibre for all the affected properties in one hit - so that when the next person in the block wants fibre services there is no more work outside to be done. Again, this is a complex stage involving network designers working out the best way to deliver service to all with as little disruption as possible.
You may think it is over at this point, but no - once scoping is complete and they have a plan for the network install, the Build team then attends the address and actually installs the network from the boundary to each of the affected properties (not just the one requesting service). Again this can be held up by various factors, such as the need to seek council consent for road/footpath opening, availability of civil contractors, working around existing underground services and coordinating with other utilities (HVAC cables, gas lines etc).
It is only when all these processes are complete - consent, scoping, design, build - can Chorus then contact the end customer to arrange for a tech to complete the final in-premise installation and connection.
If at any time you have any questions, the Chorus consent letter includes an 0800 number you can call for advice or updates etc.
With Body Corporate situations, usually only the consent of the chairman/secretary will be required, but there is still the issue of designing and building the extension of the network from the boundary to all the units that needs to be nutted out - and the body corporate needs to be 100% happy with that work. This all takes time to achieve.
I hope this helps.
The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer Chorus NZ Ltd
Are you subscribed to our RSS feed? You can download the latest headlines and summaries from our stories directly
to your computer or smartphone by using a feed reader.
Trusted
Chorus
