Kerry wants to know if she has to sign up to an expensive deal to keep her landline once the NBN is installed in her area.
Q. Kerry
What happens when our phones get cut off because of the NBN? People who don’t have computers are left with only mobile phones to call government offices all of which have 1300 numbers and which mobile phone companies charge megabucks for? How can we possibly afford to wait the very long times required to be connected?
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A. Hi Kerry. Thanks for your question. Having the NBN arrive in your area is a scary time, especially with all the negative experiences some people are reporting during the process.
The good news is that your landline will not (or should not) be cut off without significant warning.
Your current home phone provider will advise you when the NBN becomes available in your area, and you have 18 months to act before fixed-line phone services are severed.
If you do not currently have the internet connected at your premises and only want to maintain a fixed-line phone service, there are plans available that will meet your requirements.
Optus has a home phone plan that will work with the NBN that starts from $22 per month, while Telstra’s lowest price home phone offering starts from $27.95 per month.
If the 18-month deadline is approaching and you still haven’t been connected to the NBN and you are worried that your current phone service will be severed, there are still a few things to keep in mind. First, if you have booked a connection with your telecommunications provider, your landline will not be severed until your NBN is connected. If you have yet to sign up to connecting to the NBN, as soon as you do sign the contract, your existing service will be maintained until the NBN connection is ready to use.
The only situation where you will lose access to your fixed line phone service is if you let the 18-month deadline pass without signing up to a plan.
I hope this helps alleviate some of your concerns.
Do you have a tech question you would like answered?
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