Diane from Seascape Sail contacted us with a very common scenario.
The original enquiry and answer can be viewed here.
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Diane emailed us back to thank us, and to advise she was going to check out Club Telco. We followed up and asked how things were going with Club Telco. Diane:
"I really appreciated the fact that you took the time to explain the technical issues, that's pretty unusual in this manic world. Whoever I spoke with on the phone was very helpful too."
"(Club Telco) were fine on the phone yesterday, although a little repetitive (I had to go through the same details twice with two different people - to make quite sure I knew what I was agreeing to, I guess). Their package seems great and it's just what I need - my only concern is timing: 1-14 working days to get the phone line active and THEN they send out the modem. Hmm. The girl I spoke with reassured me that 14 days was only a theoretical maximum, I am hoping that was not just Customer Service Speak."
We responded back to Diane to let her know that the 14 day waiting period, annoying as it is, is quite typical:
The 14 day waiting period is indeed typical for a vacant or ‘cold’ copper connection. The connection has to go through a number of stages – first Telstra has to run an order to connect the line, which involves a linesman visiting a pillar in your street. I’ve attached a picture (imaged credit: canofworms.org) that demonstrates just how tricky that part can be!
Once your line is active, Club Telco gets the OK to go into the local telephone exchange and transfer the line from Telstra’s network and over to their network. Both of these steps can take a week, based on average lead times (you’re essentially in a queue).
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Conclusion
At the core of this case study is the unfortunate misconception that people have around how broadband is provided. Mobile and Fixed-Line solutions (ADSL and Cable) are often advertised as being one-for-one, based on similar maximum speeds. But as per the example we provided, the difference is vast.
Mobile Broadband, ultimately is best suited to people who use very little data, and only need the internet on an ad-hoc basis. The ability to move around from location to location is great, but that’s rarely the ‘wireless’ capability that people are looking for. A Wi-Fi modem/router provides a wireless local network in your home, allowing any and all devices to use your connection wirelessly. But the actual internet connection, in this case, is provided over the phone line.
For more assistance on this issue, or to prepare different providers, please call us on 1300 106 571.
