You have to feel for Bawley Point resident and business operator Liza Butler. Like many frustrated residents across the land who simply want an efficient phone and internet connection, she's been bounced from pillar to post.
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For six months she's been left in a black hole, with Telstra, NBN Co and Shoalhaven City Council all saying "not our problem" when she's raised the issue of her phone and NBN connection, which has been left languishing in the dirt (see pic) in the wake of a development next to her property.
Worse, just to get the attention of council and Telstra she's had to fork out for a solicitor to write on her behalf, seeking to have a service, for which she is paying, restored.
Telstra says it's NBN Co's problem, the NBN says it's council's problem, council says it's the developer's problem and the developer says it wants to fix the problem but council hasn't yet approved its DA to do so. It's a costly farce no one should have to endure, yet suffer it Liza has done.
Unfortunately, she's not alone. Over the years, we have covered too many stories about residents and business owners being left in communications black holes as Telstra points the finger at NBN Co and vice versa.
These stories reveal the companies involved are too often very poor at their core business, which is of course communication. That poor communication often leaves complainants feeling like ping pong balls, batted from one operator to the other with resolution of their problems taking far too long.
The issue in regional areas, where so many people operate home-based businesses, is particularly troubling and much more serious than buffering through the latest Game of Thrones episode. So serious, in fact, that in the May Budget, the federal government pledged $7.2 million to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to improve telecommunications dispute resolution.
It's no joke that if you want a better internet service that that on offer in Australia you'd be better placed in Kazakhstan - it is fact.
Something as simple as deciding who is responsible for a cable that's been left in the dirt and getting it fixed should not take six months. It should not take a month. It should just be fixed. Telstra, NBN Co and Shoalhaven City Council should stop the buck passing and get Liza's problem sorted.
