A call for the community to rally together to make an impact on NBN connectivity here in Griffith has been issued.
Griffith resident Catherine Kay has told The Area News of the considerable amount of difficulty she has had to try to get internet in her home, near the top block of Banna Avenue.
“NBN. It's been available in the Griffith CBD area since I moved here at the end of January 2017, yet, I still can't have any internet in the place I rent except for over-priced mobile data or mobile broadband” she said.
“With the FTTN NBN, it turns out there are two "nodes" in my area (just off top block Banna Ave).
“As described by the NBN technician who went to investigate back in about March...The bigger newer node has had the necessary works to get NBN, but the smaller older node has not had this, and is not connected to the other node”.
Catherine said she was told extra works needed to be completed for her place and around 100 others to use the NBN.
She has contacted her own and other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) including Telstra to ascertain whether she can access ADSL, and the response has been a resounding “no”.
“I get a slightly different answer as to why this is the case depending on who I talk to, but long story short, the only options available to me for internet at the moment is mobile data (which I'm currently using, costing $12/GB if I go over my 3GB plan), or mobile broadband ($150 for 50GB, a bit more pricey than the $70/month unlimited plan I would have on NBN).
“They tell me I just have to wait until NBNCo fixes the issue and tells me I can now get NBN.
According to NBN Network Rollout map, Banna Avenue from MacDonald's, and areas from Yambil and Canal Street, are marked as “building commenced,” however completion dates are unknown.
“I've contacted NBNCo several times but get no estimation of time or any information apart from wait.
“One time I had someone tell me it's the ISP's fault for not leasing lines from them.
“I've tried contacting council in case the capital works falls under their responsibility, or at least if they had the power to demand required works for their citizens – no such luck.
“The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman flat out told me my issue is not something they cover, which leaves me (and possibly others) in an internet no-man's land, no Netflix and chill for us.”
“I've exhausted all other avenues, so I'm hoping to get the affected community members to rally together”.
