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Thread ID: 140574	2015-11-05 01:00:00	Spark Copper line maintenance fee waived	Ryu (17418)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1410983	2015-11-05 01:00:00	Hi all about a couple weeks back i received a letter from Spark saying that its time to switch from copper phone line to fibre blah blah, there is going to be a charge of $30 to $50 fee each month if i decided to keep the copper phone line, but since its a big decision they were going to waive the copper line fee until February 2016. and then the bill came in and lo and behold they charge me $50 bucks for copper line. now the thing is i no longer have the letter Spark send me, and just would like to ask if there is other people who have the letter, so i can be sure im not have a illusion or bad memory, or that people who are in the same situation as me who got charged. i am located in the henderson area in Auckland P.S. it would be great if those who have a letter upload a image of it, remember to block out your name and account number thou. cheers guys	Ryu (17418)
1410984	2015-11-05 01:36:00	Absolutely do not believe that. Ring and ask them for your letter....... I have landline and net with them, they have sent me letters offering fibre but never have they said I will be charged extra for deciding to stay as I am. Edit: Found it: "The introduction of Fibre Landline means Spark can now provide broadband and landline services over a single fibre access and so we will be in a position to start the migration of existing customers over the coming weeks and months. It will be possible for customers to keep a copper landline if they wish to. However, Spark will no longer absorb the cost of a copper landline as well as the UFB fibre access cost and these customers will need to pay an additional fee for a copper landline service. Specifically, customers will need to sign up to a Naked Fibre Broadband plan, and purchase a standalone copper landline. The cost of the copper landline is $50 in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch or $53.50 in all other areas. " So IF you change to fibre then you can have fibre landline OR pay extra for naked fibre PLUS copper landline. Ok?	pctek (84)
1410985	2015-11-05 02:07:00	From memory, the letter we received indicated that the fee would be waived up until the switchover happened, if we initiated the switch - i.e. if we said "Yes, sure" but it took 6 weeks for it to happen, we wouldn't be charged said fee. If we chose not to go ahead, we would. I do not recall a letter saying it was waived until Feburary or any other date specifically. Perhaps this depended on area, and/or how long you've had various offerings. This is only applicable if you have fibre broadband but copper landline still. If you still have copper-based broadband (DSL) and copper-based landline it does not, as far as I know, apply. It is the cost of supporting both networks.	inphinity (7274)
1410986	2015-11-05 04:18:00	Thanks for all the reply guys! to clarify the situation, i currently have fiber30 internet and a copper landline, all with spark, i knew the maintenance charge would occur starting from 1st of November, however about 2 or 3 weeks back i received a letter stating that to help me decide and not to rush me, Spark is going to waive the maintenance fee until February next year, but my latest bill does not reflect it, i have now lost the letter and Spark is not owning up... just sort of wanting to know have anyone else received a similar letter, its always good to know if one is not alone in this circumstance.	Ryu (17418)
1410987	2015-11-05 04:51:00	I was going to get fibre, (last Monday) but thought about it after. It's not my property, so if they have to dig for the cable. That's not for me to decide I cancelled it a day after I signed up for it. And the idiot at VF didn't tell anyone. Because Chorus rang me yesterday about it. Saying I had to get consent to do it And if I did get consent it'd have taken 7 weeks anyway to get it. So if VF decided to do that I'll tell them where to go.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
1410988	2015-11-05 18:28:00	I was going to get fibre, (last Monday) but thought about it after. Ditto. While it is my property, there have been some stories about the stuffups, not just connecting, but the line installing stuff. Also we use the old dial phone. Well, it's there for it's ring, husband can't hear the modern phones noises.. So I'd lose that probably. Think I'll wait until it's old news, less chance of stuffups then, pricing may well have changed etc. I don't need more speed really.... I was slow to get broadband, so hey, might as well be slow on the next thing..	pctek (84)
1410989	2015-11-05 19:38:00	Ditto. While it is my property, there have been some stories about the stuffups, not just connecting, but the line installing stuff. Also we use the old dial phone. Well, it's there for it's ring, husband can't hear the modern phones noises.. So I'd lose that probably. Think I'll wait until it's old news, less chance of stuffups then, pricing may well have changed etc. I don't need more speed really.... I was slow to get broadband, so hey, might as well be slow on the next thing.. " husband can't hear the modern phones noises.. " do you mean when the phone rings?? If so get a external ringing device like a bedlum bell (not sure of the spelling). He'll sure hear that Your going to have to switch in 2020 as thats when the NEAX central offices get turned off..	paulw (1826)
1410990	2015-11-05 19:46:00	Part of the cost is the interface box for people like pctek with their dial phones. All the automated call obfuscation services' recorded messages have to be interpreted, so "Press 4 for something else you don't want" becomes "Put your finger in the hole marked IV , move it clockwise in an arc to the finger stopper and we will put you on hold in another department". This costs a lot of rupees to do.	R2x1 (4628)
1410991	2015-11-05 20:01:00	" You're going to have to switch in 2020 as thats when the NEAX central offices get turned off.. I wouldn't go making any definite predictions with regards to when the Neaxs will finally go. They have passed the use by date many times over already and Telecom/Spark just keep finding ways to keep them running. Undoubtedly it will happen, but the date has been moving further and further for many years now. They were installed in the 80's with an official lifespan of 10 years when it was still a state owned enterprise, 30 years later (for some of them) they are still going. As the broadband network has grown and improved, and now fibre is spreading around the country, the need for the old phone network is reducing but how long until they decide to really pull the plug is guesswork. It might take one of the exchanges actually having a catastrophic failure at this rate. Most VOIP over fibre solutions will work with standard phones, they will likely not accept dial pulses but otherwise it should work. Providing there is enough ringing current to drive the old phone of course. An as already pointed out I'm sure there will be solutions available.	dugimodo (138)
1410992	2015-11-06 02:32:00	Part of the cost is the interface box for people like pctek with their dial phones. LOL, we don't DIAL with it. paulw: Yes, he can't the ring. Bell? He had an old set of exchange bells, bit extreme.....the dial phone works fine. After all, I don't want to be deafened myself. 2020? Really, well he probably won't be around by then.	pctek (84)
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