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Wagga residents continue to complain about the National Broadband Network (NBN), with one woman saying technology worked better in the 1950’s.
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For the past three months, Jenny Chobdzynski has experienced a number of drop-outs, where her phone and internet connection would not work at all. She called her service provider again and again, but each time she was told her connection was working.
“It’s been a nightmare since I made the switch,” Mrs Chobdzynski said.
“The NBN was supposedly cheaper, quicker, easier and totally reliable, but I think we had a better phone system in the 1950’s.”
The federal government’s next-generation phone and internet system was supposed to bring Australia into the 21st century by replacing the 100-year-old copper phone network, but it had been dogged by numerous complaints about speed and reliability.
One customer told The Daily Advertiser he had been left without any phone or internet connection for 11 weeks, while others called it “a great step backwards”.
Mrs Chobdzynski said it may have taken 100 years to build the phone network, but it only took NBN Co a few years to “stuff it all up”.
“A lot of ladies I’m in contact with are having the same issues,” she said.
“I think it’s been done so shoddily, it just doesn’t work properly.”
An NBN Co spokeswoman said retailers like Telstra and Optus should be the first port of call for anyone having problems with their NBN connection.
“We work closely with the retailer service providers and our delivery partners to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience for consumers,” the spokeswoman said.
“NBN is required to have the network available to our customers 99.9 per cent of the time (and) we are meeting this target.”
Mrs Chobdzynski’s connection was fixed after The Daily Advertiser made enquiries to NBN Co.
NBN Co recently launched a new section of its website to answer commonly asked questions.