Loss of copper network in rural areas decried
The owner of a remote Maniototo farm and distillery is calling a move to deregulate copper networks in rural New Zealand "farcical" and potentially dangerous, but a Chorus boss warns today's copper is less reliable than people think.
Lammermoor Distillery — based on a 5200ha property in the Paerau valley — has a landline listed on its website, but how the company continues to connect with customers is up for debate as decision-makers in Wellington decide on a policy that would enable Chorus to withdraw remaining copper services around the country.
Susan Elliot, of Lammermoor Distillery, said it did not make sense to take the copper network away in areas where fibre was not available to replace it.
"Taking the copper away from us is a health and safety issue.
"The whole thing is farcical. They really don't give a stuff about the farmer."
She said she had lived in the valley for 40 years and had never felt more isolated than she did now.
"It's just another nail in the coffin for rural New Zealand."
A little further up the road, Matakanui farmer and district councillor Tracy Paterson said cellphone coverage could be "quite sketchy" in her neck of the woods, even with flagged network improvements.
Ms Paterson said any loss of the copper network would impact some more than others.
"Connectivity for a lot of elderly people in the community is probably quite a big concern, while younger people are quite happy to go out and source different things that are available."
The simultaneous shutdown of 3G as copper withdrawal conversations were under way required proactive planning, she said.
"I know that for us at the moment, we're looking at the drop down of 3G, and it's going to be a big issue for some of our software that we use, and we're going to have to do a whole lot of upgrades for that.
"So there's quite a few things to do with connectivity that are going to be a bit of a nuisance."
Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith is due to make a decision by the end of the year on the future of the copper network in rural New Zealand, off the back of a recommendation by the Commerce Commission that was consulted on earlier this year.
Anna Mitchell, of Chorus, responsible for retiring the copper network, called it "end of life technology" used by fewer than 107,000 New Zealand households — of which fewer than 1000 were in Central Otago.
Of the 75,000 households around the country still on copper and located outside of the coverage of the fibre network, about 850 were in Central Otago, but other options, including fixed wireless broadband from major mobile providers, regional Wireless Internet Service Providers, and satellite solutions, could keep them connected, she said.
"Today, more people are choosing faster, more reliable technologies ... with the majority of rural New Zealanders already having made the switch to an alternative technology to copper."
Other options could often be cheaper and more reliable and did not have to mean the death of the landline, Ms Mitchell said.
Anyone still using the copper network would be notified before any change to it was made in their area, and "given plenty of time to transition", she said.
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