Unreliable internet

I would like to comment on Malcolm's NBNlite centres mainly on internet speeds, and customers paying for what they don't get. While legitimate concerns, other aspects of the NBN package are seriously unsatisfactory, and go largely unreported.

Fibre-to-node connections might be cheaper than all-fibre ones, but they are inherently more complex, using in part existing copper lines whose age and condition are a raffle.

Add to these inbuilt frailties the highly variable build-quality of the NBN roll-out from place to place, and you have a recipe for unreliability.

I can speak only for that part of Drouin where I live, but if anyone thinks our situation is unique, I suggest a reality check.

For no obvious reason, the NBN connection here drops out periodically. This is unconnected to power outages; it just says "no thanks", and the helpful red light appears on your modem.

Mostly the outage is brief: seconds, plus the time necessary for the modem to re-set, usually about eight minutes.

Less often, the re-connection takes much longer, up to an hour. There have been 18 of these drop-outs of which I am aware since last October.

You know of it only if you happen to be on line or on the phone at the time; a realistic estimate of the total number might be three times that.

The consequences range from deeply annoying to potentially hazardous.

I'm not talking about Facebook friends going AWOL; losing internet connection part-way through a financial transaction, or an emergency phone call aborting are actually serious.

And the let's-all-go-mobile advocates who imagine the only landlines still in use are the fond memorabilia of geriatrics conveniently overlook the way businesses must operate.

Speak to owners of small local firms here about unreliable internet and phone connections, and watch the smoke come out of their ears. Peter Towns, Drouin