LOCALS who have purchased NBN plans in Young say they are disappointed their download and upload speeds are significantly less than what they are paying for.
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The federal Government has been spruiking the wonders of the NBN with Riverina MP Michael McCormack encouraging locals to join up and enjoy download speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
"The NBN offers speeds of up to 100 Mbps and fixed wireless technology is available to those outside of the town centre, offering wholesale download speeds of up to 50 Mbps, more than twice as fast as ADSL2+ services experienced in metropolitan areas," he said.
But local Daryl Close said the NBN is “rubbish in Young”.
“I am currently paying for 50 Mbps download with a 20 Mbps upload and I am paying $110 per month for it but the speed is never consistent,” he said.
“The fastest I have ever gotten was 25 Mbps which is not bad but still not what I am paying for.”
Fellow local Norm Bell said he is “annoyed” with the variations in download speed.
“My download speed varies from 23.78 Mbps at its top down to 4.73 at its lowest,” he said.
“Daylight is good up until 6 pm but as soon as the evening starts or on the weekend the speeds significantly drop and that is not what I am paying for.”
Tech savvy Young resident Bill Yeomans said he was prepared for what lay ahead with the NBN and took extreme measures to get top speeds.
“I spent the extra money and had new cabling installed from the modem to the pit on my property,” he said.
“I understand that is an expensive exercise that most people could not afford, but if you are not getting what you are paying for that is also expensive so I think it will save me money in the long run and some frustration.”
Mr Yeomans said the federal Government has caused these problems for locals by playing politics with the NBN.
“Every home should have had what I have had done, the original Labor plan was far superior, now they’ll have to spend money eventually to fix all this up,” he said.
NBN Corporate Affairs Manager Kelly Stevens said she was disappointed to hear that people aren’t getting the speed that they paid for.
“Anyone experiencing problems, including not getting what they paid for, is urged to contact their retailer and let them know, they will run tests to determine the cause of the problem, If they can’t solve the issue they will contact NBN and we will investigate,” she said.
“There are a wide variety of things that can affect speed, including in-home equipment, so it’s vital that consumers let their retailer know that they are experiencing problems.”
Craig Thomson
I am a media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcasts. I am currently the Editor of Australian Community Media's Launceston Examiner.
I am a media and communications professional with experience across print, digital, social and radio broadcasts. I am currently the Editor of Australian Community Media's Launceston Examiner.
