at end of June I fixed the ADSL connection at home, its been solid 10Mbps download since.
start of July, I checked the NBN website again to get latest status, as when I last checked it was saying due August, anyway, now the NBN site saying my address was now ready for connection to NBN and that I should contact my provider to arrange connection. So i plugged in the new modem that Telstra sent me, a few minutes later we up and running and live on ADSL, still 10Mbps. Next thing a SMS comes from Telstra to say we have acknowledged the new modem is connected, NBN will be connected soon. I keep checking the STATUS of the modem, still showing ADSL, I wondering what is happening, before long it is now last week of July, still no NBN, suddenly another SMS from Telstra, that NBN is now available in your street, that we will be connecting you automatically within 10 days (strange as NBN already said it was available 3 weeks ago) so finally the switch is being flicked and cutover from ADSL to VDSL is about to happen.
A week goes by still nothing. Suddenly a SMS to my XYL's phone from NBN (dont know how NBN got my XYL's mobile) anyway, it states, NBN will be enabled 12th August (another couple weeks ??) and it rambles on that a NBN Tech coming to the street to connect the NBN (wtf ?? ) It is underground pair twisted leading back to a FTTN box at the end of the street, what they havent already connected the twisted pair to the FTTN ?, something doesnt add up here !. It cant possibly be a twisted pair going back to the Exchange as that is 3km and I am getting better than 10Mbps downlink speed, I estimate I getting full ADSL speed as the distance is only 500m to the FTTN box. Switching from ADSL to VDSL should a logical changeover in the backend, not a physical pair swap.
In summary, I dont know WTF NBN is doing, as their website said it was ready in our street at start of July and Telstra was under impression it was ready and same for all the other providers, as we had a rush of brochures arrive in letter box the first week of July, but in reality the NBN not ready and won't be until mid August.
Next gripe - Optus mobile coverage, I am up the back of Jenolan Caves last week for the week, omg, that Optus mobile coverage is still crap up there, I have the Network Analyzer app on my phones, trying to identify the signal strengths, the Bands used by the phones, as I couldn't make a phone call or get a SMS on my S7 or S8 or XYL's iphone6, we could get flakey data connection on the iphone6 and S8. I could identify the four Optus towers on the App map, I can see the damned towers across the valley using binoculars at Blackheath, Medlow Bath and Katoomba and Megalong Valley, the signal strengths could barely reach -100dBm usually fluctuating in the -130 to -110dBm. Watching the Band used, mostly band 1 and 3, sometimes band 28, I had to get in the car and drive to Oberon to get a consistent signal to make calls and send SMS. If low cloud rolls up the valley, it totally kills the signal, meaning zero.
In summary, the four towers must have their panels aimed away from Jenolan Caves direction, it would be great if Optus could put a cell at top of the hill outside of Jenolan Caves to cover Porcupine Hill and also to put some signal into Jenolan Caves valley, as there is absolutely zero coverage down in the Jenolan Caves valley. No doubt someone will offer the suggestion that it far easier to just move our mobiles to Telstra, as it unlikely SingTel will want to spend any money on improving coverage.
