52nd application HELD

Yep, number 52 is in HELD status so I'm looking at another rejection on the way. Status change was yesterday as suspected just didn't get time to blog it.

I'm still looking into something alternative over ADSL but would rather have it over any alternatives currently out there. Latency been a big issue for me.

I'm about to write to the ministers, the PM and the telco people I have email before letting them know that nothing has changed. Also in the early draft of a letter to the editor to APC magazine. This ports issue is a big can of worms with thousands of people been effect but yet no one is seeing how big the problem is - I only found out by accident the extent of the issue through my posts on Whirlpool and the uploading of the Telstra Wholesales ADSL Capacity excel sheets into a online map system by the guy behind http://adsl2exchanges.com.au/. It's a seriously huge problem across Australia.

You could think that this "no ports" issue is been intentionally caused to push NextG onto unsuspecting customers and I wouldn't blame people if they come to that conclusion. It's how the BP orser system works -apply--->get HELD status if note to ring BP -->Ring BP and get told "have you considered our alternative wireless network?" at this stage normal mum's and dad who want Broadband for their school age children would be considering anything to help their child through school and have no idea of the usage requirements the child needs to do their studies and I can tell you watching videos over the net is going to get these users over their limits into the land of excess fees quickly. Worst part is at this stage the BP rep wouldn't be going "here take this information and think about it" as they want the sale now not later and will get them to sign up over the phone. Makes there take up figures look nice!

another ETA: 52nd Application

52nd application

Detailed Status:
Confirmed: Carrier has confirmed service as deliverable, provisioning work is now being undertaken
Carrier Advice
ADSL New Request In Progress (ETA: 01-02-2008)
Carrier for ADSL Port
Telstra

It will be in HELD by 9:30pm or first thing tomorrow morning...

52nd application in

51st Application with BP went into HELD status over the weekend and has failed. Spoke to the BP people and got the "exchange has not ports" reason again -hmm it's CMUX/RIM has no ports but they CSRs aren't told the difference.

52nd application in through internode.

As for the wireless or sat idea I'm concerned about latency issues. The Sat company that TM2 suggest had some ping times listed in a whirlpool.net.au thread as around 1700+ms mark. That's damn pretty high!. Wireless I've still got to get my neighbor to do some pings and traces to see how that goes - that said, again latency is a know issue with wireless. Both do have problems with weather - If it's heavy rain you lose connection -been in Victoria that cold be a big issue! ;)

Still waiting for an email response for a wireless company. Got an out of office message.


And the saga enters it's 8 month....

...and application no.50 has been rejected!!!

Yep application number 50 got rejected this evening - YAY! NOT! ...

Have a good Australia Day long weekend all.. Post next on Tuesday morning when I can type a long entry...

51st applicaton (order with BP):



MY ORDER STATUS
Whether you're waiting to have ADSL enabled on your telephone line and you already have a Self Install kit, or are waiting for the Professional Install technician to come to your house, you can check the status of your BigPond Broadband ADSL order here.
Status:
Awaiting Confirmation

Thanks for choosing BigPond Broadband ADSL. Your application has been accepted and we've confirmed that you can have ADSL at your address. We're now working on your request and we'll update the status of your order soon.
Date Order Submitted:
25 Jan 2008

Order Number:
DN116xxxxx

Order Completion / Activation Date:
08 Feb 2008
This is the date that your BigPond Broadband will be made active on your phone line.

nope, don't think this is a winner..but we will see

Review by Supervisor to come?

Hello [real name].

Thank you again for your reply [real name].

As promised I have passed on your feedback through to my supervisor for review.

I apologise once again for the difficulty you are experiencing whilst trying to obtain an affordable and decent speed internet service.

Yours Sincerely,


I'm betting I do not hear from them or their Supervisor again...

In the meantime Application 50 is now in HELD status -rejection tomorrow night me thinks :(

50th application details and a response from BP

Application no.50 :

Overall Status Provisioning is in progress
Detailed Status: Confirmed: Carrier has confirmed service as deliverable, provisioning work is now being undertaken
Carrier Advice ADSL New Request In Progress (ETA: 30-01-2008)
Carrier for ADSL Port Telstra

-----
And at last another response from BP:

Hello [real name edited out],

Thank you for your reply and I can certainly appreciate your frustration.

It was not until a year ago I myself got broadband as it was not an affordable option for me being on a tight budget and as such I can certainly empathize with you. This aside Andrew, regrettably there is nothing I am able to do.

I can certainly understand that there is a vast group of communities in new and old estates who are still unable to get broadband. I am unable to push for ports to be installed. What I am able to do is pass on your feedback through to my superior for review.

Finally [my real name edited out], I am sincerely sorry that I have addressed you as Peter in my previous correspondence.

Yours Sincerely,


I'm going ask for the supervisor review...

Some correspondance with BP

Here are my letters to BP Yesterday and extracts of the responses:

This first one was after getting a HELD status from the 49th application. I sent it via BP's online web form:

Hi there

For my 49th Application for ADSL I submitted an application to your company this morning at 10:59am it was given a Order Completion / Activation Date of 06 Feb 2008 but hit the HELD status by 1:30pm this afternoon. How long will it take before I can get ADSL where I live! I've been waiting over 7 months now (29th of Jan will be 8 months). I have been trying to obtian an ADSL as NextG does not suit my needs as an IT Desktop Support Officer at the [edit out my place of work]. It would cost me at least $2000 a month to use.

As you are aware this waiting for ports does not have any watiting lists and therefore each time I get a rejection I MUST resubmit as a port may become available at anytime -we, the public, have no idea when a port becomes free or released from the 180-182 withholding status.

49 applications and 7 plus months must show you how much I need this connection! I can't believe it's looking like it's going to take a year to happen.

Can this be escalated and reviewed ASAP?

Details:

phone/service for ADSL 03 97xxxxxx
email contact : [snipped>
last order number: DN115xxxxx


This is becoming beyond a joke.

I hope for a conclusion to this matter as soon as possible.

No cable, no wireless (Nextg doesn't work and it's not what i need), dial-up at 31.2K and inconsistent and crappy QoS

Regards


From BP (extract from the email):

appreciate you taking the time to email us, my name is [the consultants name] I understand your concern in relation to obtaining an ADSL service, and apologise for any inconvenience you have experienced as a result.

I have reviewed your previous email [my real name] and I am very sorry to hear of the frustration you have had to endure, trying to obtain an ADSL service. I acknowledge that you have attempted an incredible amount of times for our service as you require an internet connection for your occupation.

It is with regret that I advise there is nothing more we are able to do. Like yourself, we are unable to determine when ports are/will be made available. Customers cancel and sign up everyday

My response to this was:

Hi [consultants name]

So there is nothing that can be done to remedy this situation? Is that
what your email is implying? I find that rather outrageous! You can not
help a potential customer obtain an ADSL port or give an indication of
when they are likely to obtain an ADSL?

48 ports are on my CMUX/RIM and it has not been updated since at least
2004. More houses have been built and more people have moved in yet
your company or your sister company has failed in supplying access to
affordable ADSL broadband to a new estate. It's more frustrating with
the 180-182 rule basically making it impossible for a new house obtain
ADSL broadband as when the disconnect port goes into to the held port
it's more likely to go to a new own of the house that got disconnected
than one of us who have been waiting months or years!

You have no idea how insanely stressful it is trying to obtain ADSL in a
new estate. I know this is a HUGE problem that isn't been attended to
and is getting bigger with everyday.

You're the only company (or your sister/parent company Telstra) with
infrastructure in our estate and it in inadequate for us. 48 ports on a
DA, all fully taken and not one person can get ADSL at the moment. It's
been like this for more than 7 months.

This has got to be a joke in 2008!

Unbelievable situation - is this to make us use nextg? I wonder about
this as it shows lack of future proofing or understanding of local
demand for ADSL in my area.

Again I find it unacceptable that in a large number of new estates we
have this continual problem.

*sigh*

Regards


Which recieved the following reply:

I appreciate your disappointment at not being able to receive ADSL at your location.

Telstra wants to invest in the next wave of internet infrastructure, a fibre-based high-speed broadband network to deliver speeds beyond the capabilities of ADSL and other current networks to Australians. That is why we have launched the Broadband Australia Campaign, BACK Telstra.

Our website www.nowwearetalking.com.au is your opportunity to find out more about the state of broadband services in Australia, and gives you the opportunity to learn more about the campaign. You can also sign up to become a Telstra Active Supporter and play your part in ensuring access to a high-speed broadband service for Australians. For further information, please use the below link.

http://www.nowwearetalking.com.au/Home/Default.aspx

Once again Peter [NOT my real name at all], I’m sorry that we are unable to assist you further. I’m confident your future experiences with us will be more positive.

Yours Sincerely,

I'm not confident especially when BP uses Cut/paste methods to compose emails to customers!
as I've put in square brackets Peter is NOT my name at all though the email did have it address to my real name.

Since that email I have replied again with:

Hi [consultants name]

I'm fully aware of Telstra's "new wave of internet infrastructure" and the FTTN debate going in many circles but at the moment that is all just talk and no action. I've posted about 5-6 posts to the www.nowwearetaking.co.m.au and even asked where is the proof of the rollout been prepared? At this stage it's all talk and not a signed sealed, iron clad agreement or even SLA showing exactly what is planned and how it's going to eventuate!

It'd been another 5-10 years away as all that is going on at the moment is fighting between Telstra, ACCC and the government over things that may or may not affect the future of Broadband. Until this fighting stops and your company (Telstra, Telstra Wholesales; etc) get on with the job it's just going to be a pipe dream.

We need a form of broadband now that is viable, reliable and affordable right now! Your so-called "alternative network" does not fit the bill. It's expensive and had the lowest quotas for super users such as myself. 3 gig at $110 plus $150 per a gig after is NOT in my books afford "viable solution" as has been put to me by some of your companies reps I've dealt with in the past.

I'm composing this email before work at work because I know my home dial-up is unreliable and drops out are to often! I know that it's been choked due to the CMUX to around the 31.2K mark it's virtually unusable. It's irritating to use and S L O W. I can't use VPN, remote desktop, or even update my dual boot systems. Oh and forget Linux based OS systems! (That which I WAS is the process of relearning at home!) Even just surfing the web is incredible painful - hit that reload button a lot!

We just need Telstra Wholesales to add ports to my local CMUX (DA147 Melton) or better yet install an ISAM...

I can't believe that since 2005 there has been no upgrade to my CMUX to future proof it for incoming households - as stated before the 180-182 day rule does make things harder....

Oh and the problem I am having is not just happening in my estate. It's bigger than you think, way way bigger. For example the problem is currently existing in Narre Warren, Point Cook, Wyndham (part of Werribee, Victoria), and another Melton estate area and that's the ones I know of is Victoria! It's happen in all new estates across Australia - got look at the ADSL Capacity excel sheet at http://www.telstrawholesale.com/products/docs/access_broadband_adslex03.xls
And look up these area and others and get a picture of what is really happening out there. Remember to discard main exchanges in the areas as they may have ports which is still no good to us people behind CMUX//RIMs. Note: CMUX/RIMs with limited ADSL ports are STILL been deployed daily in new estates.

In closing, [consultants name], I'd like to point that in your last correspondence you must of not proof read your reply to me before sending as I can see the last paragraph -like many paragraphs in email from Big Pond I received over the 7+ months - is a cut and paste job as you have left the name Peter in it from your last usage of the copy/paste paragraph.

Also I will continue my fight for ADSL as it is something I do require for my job and upgrading of skills. I intend to take this to the media next and some notable PC magazines. This should not have reached 50 applications or 7+ months in the first place.


Regards


Now waiting for anymore correspondence....

49th Application rejected!

Unfortunately further investigations confirm we won't be able to connect a BigPond Broadband ADSL service for you. Please Contact Us and we'll look into some other Broadband options that may be available.

Date Order Submitted:

23 Jan 2008

Order Number:

DN11590188

And rejected!

update 2 on Application 49

seesh already gone to another status:

MY ORDER STATUS

Whether you're waiting to have ADSL enabled on your telephone line and you already have a Self Install kit, or are waiting for the Professional Install technician to come to your house, you can check the status of your BigPond Broadband ADSL order here.

Status:

Awaiting Confirmation

Unfortunately there may be a short delay before we can confirm that you'll be able to receive ADSL. We need to perform some additional work on your telephone line before we can confirm your service.
We apologise for the delay and once we've done this we'll contact you by phone or email and let you know what the next steps are.

Date Order Submitted:

23 Jan 2008

Order Number:

DN11590188

Can't see it happening now :( ::sigh::

Updated to 49th application

Checked the status and got this:

MY ORDER STATUS Whether you're waiting to have ADSL enabled on your telephone line and you already have a Self Install kit, or are waiting for the Professional Install technician to come to your house, you can check the status of your BigPond Broadband ADSL order here. Status: Awaiting Confirmation Thanks for choosing BigPond Broadband ADSL. Your application has been accepted and we've confirmed that you can have ADSL at your address. We're now working on your request and we'll update the status of your order soon. Date Order Submitted: 23 Jan 2008 Order Number: DN11590188 Order Completion / Activation Date: 06 Feb 2008 This is the date that your BigPond Broadband will be made active on your phone line. Back to My BigPond

I don't except this one to work but I've never got a Order confirmation/activation date before from them - usually hits HELD straight away.

49th Application

Just submitted Application 49 with Big Pond. It will die like all the others :(

Another application in held

Application 48 went into held and is looking like yet another rejection.

I can't believe they haven't worked out I really need the ADSL port by now ;þ

QoS of my dial-up is beyond crap with consistent drop outs and websites taking forever to load it's driving me insane!

It's worse than when I was on 14K modem, 24K and 36K modem speeds in the 1990's to 2000 . Seriously, it's the worse internet I've used and this is a 56K internal modem I'm suppose to be using here. For the record I have tried and external 56K with the same results of QoS.

Before I moved into my new house I live in a rental where I was using the same 56K modem setup 5-6 years ago and it was never a problem .- no drop outs, no QoS issues and it was on 48K (fast as a copper line can go) all the time.. I only started using the ADSL there 2 years ago before moving out to the new place.

I've sent off an email to the Wireless ISP I spoke of in the last entry and am still waiting a reply to a few questions on approximate costs involved in setting up the link. I'm also a little concerned about the latency of the service which I'll get my next door neighbor who is with the wireless mob to checkout for me.

Getting close to 8 months of no broadband at home ....

Wireless an option? Not NextG

Monday morning - no news on the latest application as it's still on it's way to be processed - I think weekend ones have to wait for the following Monday when the order processing team at the Big T are in.

Had an air conditioner repair man out on the weekend fixing our system and he mentioned a wireless broadband company to look into. Which I have had mentioned to me before but the only thing I didn't like was the speeds 512/128 and a limit of 12gig but it's be better than nothing.

The caught is the setup cost will be around the $599 mark due to the need setup an long range wireless system. At least it will still be cheaper than NExtG :þ

We have to work out what the whole system will cost as I'd been linking 2 PCs to the system and then the month $88 costs.

I'll give them a ring later today. I'll still apply for ADSL in the meantime

...and we have a rejection!

Overall Status Service Retired
Detailed Status: Cancelled: Service order rejected by CarrierCarrier
Advice ADSL New Request Rejected - Alternative path currently not available
Carrier for ADSL Port Telstra

I got the SMS on my mobile for this rejection at 9:21pm this evening.

The rejections are quick at the moment!

So now I've place 48th application in through internode as doing an application through this crappy dial-up connection is a bit of a trail with the bad response times with Big Ponds site. I've had it time out a few times before in the middle of an application which meant having to agian re-enter my application from the start. Annoying and pain full ... With internode I just hit the resubmit button.

Getting to fifty applications quicker than I first thought. ::sigh::

IN HELD way before COB

Initial Data Entry Date	Tue May 29 2007
Overall Status	Provisioning is in progress
Detailed Status:	Held: Service Held - Delay in provisioning encountered
Carrier Advice	ADSL New Request Held
Carrier for ADSL Port	Telstra

so we hit HELD at 10:52am ....now it will stay this way till the rejection ...

Let's follow an order

Well I put application 47 in yesterday morning with Internode (provisioning by Telstra) and the order status changed over night to:

Detailed Status:	Confirmed: Carrier has confirmed service as deliverable, provisioning work is now being undertaken
Carrier Advice	ADSL New Request In Progress (ETA: 22-01-2008)
Carrier for ADSL Port	Telstra

Yep, they gave it an ETA as per normal, in this case the 22nd which is next Tuesday, I betting it is in HELD by the COB today and that by Monday it will be another rejection.

Let's see what happens..

Quick rejection -number 46 is gone

How quick was that rejection from BP? I only applied again this morning at 7:30am ish and it's already a "no ports" Rejection! ... I've gone back and done another with the node after getting the 46th one with BP officially cancelled - you have to or it gets stuck in HELD for days. *sigh*

So I'm up to number 47 and 3 away from 50 applications - don't understand why they don't get the point that they NEED to put more ports in the local CMUX -save them having me reapply every week or every couple of days - it's not like I can stop reapplying. Wish they had a waiting list instead of this continual cycle of ordering--> HELD-->Rejection-->reorder. It's so bloody batty! unlike lotto you can only have one entry in a time for Port Lotto ....

*sigh*

Yet another rejection

Another day, another rejection! ...The rejection for my 45th application came through last night via SMS. I've already gone ahead and put in application 46. I've decided to try Big Pond again - not that I can see any success occurring *sigh*

I've been thinking about the next steps to take: i) letter writing to a few well know PC magazines and ii) the local neighbor letter drop.

After hearing about the Werribee saga that ended up with a local council meeting on the issue which had Telstra Reps just pushing NextG as an alternative is got me worried that all this will ended having no effect. God, 7 months down the track and it doesn't even feel like I'm getting any head way in this fight. It's been a stressful time. There's been things I was planning to do with the broadband at home like doing my online course work and updating my IT skills base; etc that I can't do. There's also the loss of many many hours of testing programs and working on some home grown projects. All gone to waste now.

The thing that gets me is the state of Australia's broadband - It's much worse than people relies. Every new estate is having the same issues of limited or no ports for ADSL. Some are as bad as our estate with no cable and no working wireless access along with the no ports. Blackspots are been created across the country and they don't seem to care that this is happening in 2008 - feels like we are heading back to the dark ages. Sounds like I'm making it sound worse than it is well, I hate to tell you this, it IS worse than this. I've done some research over last few months and I can tell you there are black spots everywhere - areas with no ports, areas without NextG coverage (I have seen it even on my moblie phone in Warrnambool, Victoria) , areas without any access to broadband at all; etc. When I get time I'll write up a mini report showing what I've found and believe me if people knew how bad the situation was they would be rope able.

The order procedure -the cycle of port hell

Let's take a look at the ordering procedure when your in port hell (example is my 45th application with Internode):

First you hit the resubmit button (or place a new order) and wait a few hours and get the following:

Overall Status Provisioning is in progress Detailed Status: Confirmed: Carrier has confirmed service as deliverable, provisioning work is now being undertaken Carrier Advice ADSL New Request In Progress (ETA: 18-01-2008)

First time I got this I was thinking: "YAY! I'm getting my ADSL back" not the case at all. At this stage this is the the first check for ADSL which is basically a check of your local main exchange which may have few ports.

Wait a few more hours and then it will show:

Overall Status Provisioning is in progress Detailed Status: Held: Service Held - Delay in provisioning encountered Carrier Advice ADSL New Request Held Carrier for ADSL Port Telstra

This will happen AFTER Telstra check their backend database. This is when they see your on a CMUX/RIM without ports and place your order into HELD status. This status can last a few days to a week. If you get an ETA next to this HELD status you might be in luck.

When the final rejection comes (45th application hasn't failed yet so this example is from my 43rd attempt) you will see this:

Overall Status Service Retired Detailed Status: Cancelled: Service order rejected by Carrier Carrier Advice ADSL New Request Rejected - Alternative path currently not available Carrier for ADSL Port Telstra

That's a rejection! So at this point you have to resubmit your application again.

Notes:

1) You can only ever have one application in the orders system
2) You have to ring the ISP on occasions to check if the issue is still the same eg "no ports on CMUX"; etc
3) There are no waiting lists for ports on CMUX/RIM so your only recourse is to resubmit - if you don't and a port becomes available you might miss out.
4) You can not find out if ports are pending for release, if ports are in the 180-182 hold status and you can't find out (you can if you research enough) how many ports your local CMUX/RIM has.

The need, the need for speed

Thought last night at home I'd run a test of my dial-up of downloading a 1mb file off the net. As part of the test, to get an accurate speed reading, I used TCP real time viewing program to make sure that no other programs where trying to use the dial-up bandwidth at the same time I ran the download speed test.

The results where shocking - 1mb took a staggering 45mins and a few secs to download. I did the test twice and I can confirm it was around the 45 min mark on both occasions.

No wonder website pages take ages to load up! No wonder I sometimes have to hit the refresh button numerous times to get a page to load correctly. With these speeds you wonder why I can't use the home net to do some productive work! ...

For the record, I can't even logged the management side of this blog site from home so that's why I have to post blogs before my work day begins at work or at lunchtime.

---
Spoke to a new person in our street last night and found out that they are having issues with their phone - hasn't worked since they moved in! ...I mentioned the broadband issue but I think they are more concerned that the phone line is not working -one thing at a time - didn't look happy that broadband was going to end up been an issue though.

I just wonder how many people in our estate with home business are having issue getting broadband - viable and reliable broadband?

As I said in comments to my last post I'd love another company to come into the estate and give us the broadband access we want but, yes there is a but, I think the developers and the local shire would put red tape on this occurring. Along with the fact they'd have fun getting access to the backhaul to the exchange. Also there is the issue of duplicating an existing network. It's not a easy thing to happen - I've yet to find any evidence that a company has successfully done this. It's been tried.

and the saga continues

This is the last email I sent out to BP on the issue:

Hi

Never said there was any free ports - Just that I understand that there are only 48 ports in total. Also I am aware that there needs to be a order active to assign a port to me. Hence, why I have cancelled the order and resubmitted it. At the moment I'm trying through two ISPs -yourself and another company. It's a bit like lotto -Port Lotto: you have to be in it to win it! I know there are NO Waiting lists and it's a case on have an order in at the time the port comes free and having that application in the technicians hand at the time -crazy, stressful game.

I wish that they just send someone out to add more ports to the CMUX as it's the only way to resolve this problem. 48 ports that as all taken in a new estate aren't going to be disconnected in any near future. We, in the second last stage, are basically been screwed because we built later in the development - Pretty unfair if you ask me.

So I'll just continue the order cycle that I've been doing for the last 7 months in the vain attempt at getting a port ...sounds like finding a needle in a haystack.

*sigh*

--------------

Since that email got sent I've had a two phone conversation that basically summed up the situation as not been changed...7 months and no changes or movement to get a solution to this mess?!?!? For crying out loud if I was a business I'd be on the verge of wanting to sue for loss of income!

There's no ETAs and no plans STILL to get this issue fixed nor has there been an offer of some workaround to fix things in the mean time (nothing other than the expensive and non viable, unreliable "alternative network"). Well, it looks like the Big T should invest in some ITILs training!

No future proofing, no investing in future customer bases, and no understanding there is a BIG problem out there that is day by day getting bigger and bigger. what's that about Ivory towers?....

This no ports issue isn't going to go away over night -especially when they aren't trying to stop it in the first place ..CMUX are still been rollout and weekly more CMUX/RIMs hit their "no ports" status. There's no proof that they are trying to fix the problems at all.

And you wonder, dear reader, why i get so frustrated....

Checking if your on a CMUX/RIM and another application attempt.

As promised here step by step guide to checking if you are on a CMUX/RIM and how many ports are available on them:

You can check this way by using the Telstra Wholesales reports:

1)Go to telstrawholesale.com/pro...eports-plans.htm And download the "ADSL Enabled and Proposed Enabled Distribution Areas" Excel sheet -it's big!

2) Open the excel sheet search for your suburb/town and street name then note the "DA Code"

3) Now download the "ADSL Capacity" excel sheet and find your suburb/town and state then look for the DA code -there are lines with more than 1 DA Code.

4) There under "spare services" is how many ports are currently available. If you can't find your street in the first excel then look for the main exchange in your areas "spare services" number.

----------------------------------
Since my last post I have reached 44 applications. The lastest is still in HELD with Big Pond (Telstra). I spent time yesterday writing an email to them:

Dear Big pond (please raise this with manager or higher)

For the last 7 months I have been trying to connect an ADSL connection to my new house in Golden Wattle Way, West Melton. This has included 44 applications been submitted of which 4 have been with BigPond. All have been rejected to "no port" on the local CMUX.

I have been offered NextG as an "alternative" to ADSL but cannot accept it as a "viable" alternative to ADSL as it would cost me around $2000 a month! This would be due to the fact my usage requirements would be between 16-20gig a month. NextG does not at this time offer shaping or quotas above 3 gig. so the highest plan is 3 gig at $110 per a month then roughly $150 per a gig after ...do the maths it's close to or over $2000. That said, the NextG does not work will out where I live as other people within the estate who are currently on it have told me -a few can't wait for their contracts to end and are no using it!

The usage I require is due to the fact I work at the University of Melbourne within their IT Desktop Support Services teams and have 2-3 machines at home that use linux and windows for testing and home/office work. On current dial-up speeds which are no where near 56K due to the CMUX/RIM I am on I can not do updates, VPN, or remote desktop work. My PCs are 7 months out of date and are dual boot linux/windows machines..

There is no other options expect ADSL or a shaped wireless service (which there are none) or a wireless service with a descent quota without excess fees (again which there are none). We do not have cable in the estate (passes on co-burns rd just outside the estate) which would have been another option.

I'm wondering how long it will be before I can expect a change to occur where I can obtain ADSL to my home residence?

This now has been going on for 7 months and it has been a most stressful and frustrating time. You have no idea how bad the current dial-up speeds I have been experiencing are - e.g. you can't pay a citylink pass and your bigpond main page takes a good five minutes to load - and that's after a few refresh button hits -using both firefox and IE7.

Please can you fix this ongoing issue for us for once and for all?

I currently have an order in HELD with you with the order number DNxxxxxxxx

Kind Regards

To which I got this unhelpful response:

Dear

Thank you for your email, my name is Blake and I appreciate you taking the time to contact us. I understand that you are querying when you may be able to get ADSL.

I appreciate that with your requirements it may be a little frustrating not being able to get ADSL or Cable. I can confirm that while your telephone line is compatible with an ADSL service there is a high demand for ADSL at your exchange, which means that there is not a sufficient number of ports available to suit the number of applications. This is regrettable, however I am unable to advise if or when the exchange will be upgraded.

I hope that you are soon able to take advantage of broadband in your area, and advise that the best method is to submit orders every few months as ports are provided only to people with current orders, and on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Kind regards,

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Stats off as the typical cut/paste BP job and then goes into the usually "no ports on local exchange" which it isn't technically correct as it's the local CMUX/RIM that doesn't have ports. TIP: If your on a CMUX/RIM the main exchange ADSL ports do not come into play.

I have since responded but yet to receive a reply to:

Hi

Thanks for your reply this afternoon regarding this issue I have been having for the last 7 months.

I know that the problem is the local CMUX/RIM not having enough ports -which has been the case for the last 7 months!! I also understand that there are currently only 48 ports available on that RIM which has a capacity for 94-96 ports in total. The 48 ports where installed with the initial setup of the CMUX in 2004 nothing has been added to the CMUX since then - I find this situation to be frustrating more so since I got told by Big Pond to check back in 6 months - I have done so and the situation has regrettably not changed!

Even more insulting is the fact when I got my phone connected I was assured twice that there would be NO problems with the provision of my ADSL.

Now that there are NO Alternatives that are viable and realistic it stuns me that I will be continuing to wait for the Broadband to appear.

I find that this is having to reapply ever time I get a rejection due to no waiting lists for ports on the CMUX is driving me crazy. Even more so since we have NO idea when or if a port will ever be available to connect my ADSL.

I hope to God this does not take more than 12 months.

I'm in a metro assigned area - God help the Regional areas!!!

REgards

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At this rate it will take over a year!

I feel for the Big Pond (BP) frontline staff (CRS) who don't seem to be given the right tools to do their job when asking inquiries. That said, there seems to be a few dodge sales reps within their ranks as well - like any company - I have heard and read some horror stories about them.

My other big grip with BP frontline staff is their pushing of Nextg aka the "Alternative/viable solution". It's nothing like an Alternative while we wait for ADSL! it's over priced crap that has high latency and doesn't even work well in certain areas! ...Since I know how much it costs me now I just mention the $2000 a month that it would be for me and they generally get the point but don't go out of their way to help beyond "oh you can't get ADSL at the moment as there are no ports - sorry" ...

Yeah, it's getting to be a right pain! The dial-up at home is sooo bad I can't even keep this blog up to date!

Devils in the details

The plan is to post to this blog as developments occur and that the moment application 41 is still in HELD status which one learned poster over at www.whrilpool.net.au should mean I'm in for another rejection.

As you maybe aware from my last post that this will mean I will have to resubmit another application, not hard work just hit the button and done, and sadly this is the only recourse we have. There are no waiting lists for these ports.

If you like me have been through the hoops with trying to find out what you can do to get something done you will know the red tape of the Big T. You can't get ETAs for more ports or an upgrade, you can't find out how many ports are in the cabinets, you can't get a number of ports that are been withheld under the 182 day rule and you can't get an idea of when a port will be released. The only indication of capacity of a CMUX/RIM is available through Telstra Wholesales - But this requires some initial detective work to find you CMUX/RIM DA number. I'll expian in how you can find your DA number (Australia only).

Just a final note to this post : Due to having dial up access only at home my posts to this blog are going to be limited to ones I can do before work and during work hours - my Dialup is currently unreliable to do this sort of work. ::sigh::

7 months no ADSL due to no ports on CMUX/RIM

The best way I can start this blog is to copy paste a long email I sent out on the 29th of November, 2007 which was the 6 months to the day point in my fight to obtain an ADSL connection to my new house:

To who this my concern

I wish to draw you attend to a major issue that is effecting some new estates within Melton that if left unaddressed will cause a massive infrastructural, educational and business problem that will affect the growth of the Melton community for years to come. This issue which is currently leaving over 80% or 4 out of five homes without variable ADSL broadband access within these areas.

The issue.

At the present time due to non-future proof infrastructure been laid out by Telstra in a number of New estates within Melton have limited or no access to ADSL Broadband or even cable (My estate is an example of this). By limited I meant that with the use of Telstra’s cheaper pair gain system any CMUX/RIM*^ cabinet or sub exchange serving an area can only proved 20% of the telephone lines entering the system with ADSL. There are 480 POTS (Telephone line) connections in a CMUX/RIM cabinet and of which there max is 94 ADSL ports. Which in effect means OVER 80% of customer on each CMUX/RIM will currently NEVER be able to get ADSL unless something is done.

Compounded onto this is the fact that if a ADSL user connected to the CMUX/RIM decides to disconnect his/her ADSL service Telstra can and will withhold the ADSL port for 180 to 182 days (6 months). This withholding comes with a catch that allows anyone within the premises of the disconnected service to exclusively reconnect the ADSL service at request during the 180-182 days period –this does not have to be the original occupants! What effectively does is discriminate from other waiting ADSL applicants from obtain ADSL sooner.

Also there are no waiting lists for ADSL ports on CMUX/RIMs it’s a case of having to reapply each time your receive a rejection until a port comes available to you – chances of that are pretty slim – In my own case I have been applying for 6 months (that’s 28-29 applications) but I’m sure there are people who have been trying longer than I have out there in the Melton community. With no waiting lists a person can apply tomorrow and take a port over someone who has been applying for months.

As mentioned above there is no cable available in some estates to offer an alternative connection. This is true of the estate I am in. The cable goes passed along Coburns Rd but does not enter it.

Dial-up speeds are capped at 31.2K due to pair gain. So all the people currently within estates with the no ports and have pair gain issues using dial-up via a 56K modem are having their connects choked by at least 24K. Try buying a citylink pass at these throttled speed–from experience after 5 minutes waiting for the page to actually load up I ended up giving up!

There are no other viable broadband alternatives ie wireless. Telstra have until recently suggest that their NextG network is a viable solution which not true. Why? Because it’s over expensive, no shaping of plans (plans without excess fees) and outrageously low quotas (the highest been 3 gig) for example: 200mb (this is both uploads and downloads together) at $54.95 a month of Nextg plan with excess fees of 0.30 per MB usage after the 200mb on a 12 month contract. The highest 3 gig (upload and downloading is added together) plan is $149.95 before the same excess fees. This information is from http://my.bigpond.com/internetplans/broadband/wireless/plansandoffers/default.jsp

How big is the Problem?

The maintainer of the website http://adsl2exchanges.com.au/ recently imported the publicly available ADSL capacity excel spreadsheet that shows the number of ports available on CMUX/RIMs into a map format that shows the locations of CMUX/RIMS (some parts of Melton (more older area) are services by copper and are not affected) and there port availability. The Map for Melton is at http://adsl2exchanges.com.au/viewsuburb.ports.php?Abbrev=MLTN%20W . This page is still to be setup to a standard that can be read by a lay person. What you need to note is that red and purple dots appearing on the map (streets) means no ports available. Yes, that’s right ALL of Micasa Rise (my estate) is affected by the issue!!!

Even scarier is this issue is not just occurring in Melton but across Australia

The Fix

Telstra can add more ports to CMUX/RIMS or install another housing close by for more ports but they are refusing to fix the issue stating demand as their key reason for not doing anything. On several occasions I have asked about demand trigger targets that they require before they will take action and have obtained various numbers of people that need to register their demand. These numbers change depending on who you talk to. I’ve had numbers given to me of 20, 50, 60, 40 people from Telstra and Telstra Wholesales. Mind you, when you question them more you find that even if you get the target demand levels registered it’s only for a consideration of further upgrades to the local network meaning they can end up doing nothing at all to fix the problem!

As of last week Telstra still had no plans to upgrade my local network to add more ports.

Why is important to act?

If the current infrastructure not reviewed and fixed sooner rather than later there is going to be a real risk of damage to the Melton Community. In these new estates until there is more ports made available families with children at local schools are going to be disadvantaged in their studies due to the lack of access to information and knowledge via the world wide web –cost of access been a major concern too. It will have an effect on local business with no ADSL or viable broadband access people working from home trying to start up a business are going to find not having fast reliable broadband is not going to help in the growth of their business. This impact could see people spreading the word to steer clear of certain areas of Melton or completely away from the area and thus taking their business and business investments with them.

My personal fight for ADSL access

As an IT Desktop Support officer having access to viable and secure broadband is a must have so just before I moved to my new house here in Melton I went about relocating my ADSL connection to my new address (this was the 29^th of May, 2007) little did I know this would turn into a fight to get it connected!. I have submitted 28-29 applications with ISPs (including Big Pond, Internode, Westnet; etc) which have all been rejected to no ports on CMUX/RIM. It now has been 6 months from the day I started trying to obtain ADSL.

I have found through some research that the CMUX/RIM that services my area (DA147) was created in October 2004 and was ADSL-enabled when installed. In a Telstra Wholesales report dated the 17/06/05 it states there were 5 ports available at the time!!! Nothing seems to have been done to add more since then!

There are ADSL users within the first couple of stages of the estate but later stages, including the 6^th stage which I reside, cannot obtain access. Effectively meaning if you had your house built early in the estates development you had a better chance of getting it!

Telstra blame the developers and the developers blame Telstra. No one is omitting fault to the issue.

I have emailed state and Federal members of parliament, Telstra, the TIO and even the real estate that sold me the land all have failed in getting something done to fix the issues.

I started a thread on the whirlpool.net.au website in June that is still active and has been read by more than 8297 users and spans over 35 pages http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=769620&p=1

I’ve even post to the Telstra Now We Are Talking and Tell the Truth Telstra websites: http://www.nowwearetalking.com.au/ and http://www.tellthetruthtelstra.com.au/

My reasons for needing ADSL are so:

• I can keep my computer systems up-to-date. They have not been updated for 6 months due to poor speeds and dropouts while using dial-up.
• I can provide remote support activities off site from home for users. 31.2K is not fast enough to do any support related work.
• I can keep abreast of current news and technology and to be able to do testing in a closed environment.

All the above I cannot do without a viable broadband connection.

In Conclusion

In ending this letter I’d like to point out to you that at this stage I cannot get even an ETA out of Telstra of when they plan to address this problem. The only hint I have gotten is that they have a 5 year technology cycle which would mean this issue may not be fixed for at least 5 years. I believe that 5 years is going to be too late. We need action sooner rather than later. Melton is one of the fastest growing communities outside Melbourne and with more people moving into the area the infrastructure should be future proofed now in the development stage. Demand for viable broadband is just going to increase in the long run as it is a necessary technology in this day and age that every family will eventually want and need. I can not stress this more strongly. If this problem cannot be resolved here in Melton which is a metro assigned area according to Telstra God help the regional areas!

Regards

NB: Definitions of Pair Gain and it’s related technologies including CMUX/RIMs; etc please see the following link to a whirlpool.net.au wiki on the subject: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/index.cfm?a=wiki&tag=RIM%20and%20Pair%20Gain%20FAQ

The current state of play is that it's now 7 months and 41 applications later and nothing has changed.

The Whirlpool.net.au thread has entered it's second part and Telstra has tried again to up sell NextG onto me which would cost $2000 a month!