Poor service and no solution after 4 years of trying - Northern Illawarra area of NSW

Question

Dear all, I am a resident of Stanwell Park in NSW, having moved to the area in 2011. Despite our new home being connected to ADSL2+ under the former owner, Telstra advised that they could not connect us soon after we bought the home. This is despite Telstra agreeagreeing to connect the service prior to our purchase. Over the ;last 4 years we have had nothing but grief from Telstra. We have been to the ADSL2+ Exchange website after believing that the three providers listed could provide a solution. But alas, they all used the Telstra line and advised that the Telstra line was not serviceable due to packet loss and slow Internet speed. So our only solution - given we run a consulting business - has to been to purchase wireless broadband from Telstra at more than $400 per month (including two work mobiles). But even that hasn't worked, with Telstra taking our tower out of service frequently, including 6 days over the past fortnight. The most recent period follows difficulties experienced continuously over the past 6 months. I have lost count of the number of times we have spoken with Telstra - we have just about spoke to everybody including the condescending staff of the Customer Support Centre in the Philippines. On a number of occasions we have called to seek correction of high levels of excess data charges owing to pent up downloads arriving in a billing month after weeks of no or limited service in the prior month. What is more, we are paying normal charges for a service that is regularly unavailable - both mobile and wireless broadband. We are now in contact with the TIO who are seeing what they can do. Over the weekend, we started a Facebook page called '2508 Disconnected' and have been stunned by the response of the community. With more than 179 likes in less than 48 hours (and a post reach of more than 2000), we have learnt that this is a hot issue for many in our community. Respondents have cited problems where all communications have been poor, affecting people living in retirement homes and resulting in an unreliable mobile and Internet service in an area that is renown for bushfires!! We have all had enough and are going via the media and the politicians to see if we can actually get someone to take us seriously. After all, we are just 15kms from the southern suburbs of Sydney - not in the middle of Australia!!

Answer 1

No DanK. Interestingly, that was the first question we were asked almost 4 years ago. Since that time, we estimate that we have made more than 40 calls on this issue, and had three visits from technicians. We were first told (early 2011) that the problem was 'packet loss' owing to our being too far from the exchange (and that Telstra took the opportunity to use the home ownership change to remove a service account that was sub-optimal). When we replied by saying that any connection was better than none, we were then told that there were no available ports (late 2011). We let it lie at this point and went on to a much more expensive wifi solution - currently pay more than $400 per month in standard mobile and mobile broadband charges.
We then learned, quite by accident from a casual conversation with a Telstra technician, that there were actually a number of available ports. The technician was less than complimentary about Telstra service and support staff. Ww then spent the next two years - yes, that is TWO YEARS - going backwards and forwards with Telstra (and other potential providers). We have heard every excuse in the book. We have heard claims that service is available only to be told that it is not. We have read media statements that Telstra advises the problem will be rectified by the NBN roll-out in early 2015, only then to be told that no Telstra representative made any such statement to the Illawarra press.
Needless to say, Telstra's name is mud down here in the Northern Illawarra (population of more than 20,000 and over 7000 dwellings). No amount of running around donating $1000 here and there to community organisations is going to pacify the outrage. The outrage is building and we are working hard to focus it for change. So please dont be so condascending by taking me back four years with such a basic question - it is insulting to all of us here in the 2508/2515 local area who are fed up with being fed BS by Telstra.