The outlook for Thursday. Image / 123rf
If you're in one of the just-under half a million households that's yet to upgrade from your old copper phone line, you might shortly have no choice.
From this Wednesday (March 16), Chorus will begin switching off the roadside copper cabinets - meaning a neighbourhood's residents will have to switch to UFB fibre or fixed-wireless broadband (that is, getting your broadband through a mobile phone provider).
If you're one of those affected in the first wave, then you should have received a letter of final notification on March 2 (Chorus has an address-finder guide for when copper withdraw hits your street here).
A 2018 law change allowed Chorus to withdraw copper service in areas where UFB fibre has been laid. That will be nearly all urban areas when the fibre rollout - now in its final stages - wraps up later this year.
The Commerce Commission came up with a Copper Withdrawal Code (and a companion 111 Contact Code) that included a number of protections, including that people would not pay more when they upgraded from copper; that installation is at no cost; and that people left without access to services like emergency calling were looked after.
Although it has many disadvantages, from slow internet speed, a copper line lets you make a call during a power cut. The Commerce Commission says most homes with fibre have no landline phone. But for those who do, a landline won't work over fibre if the power's out.
If you are at risk of being left in the lurch, then the 111 Code calls on your internet service provider to work with you to find a solution, which could be your ISP providing a cheap mobile phone.
The code also obliges your provider to work with you to ensure any monitored devices - such as a burglar alarm or medical monitoring - continue to work after you upgrade from copper.
The Copper Withdrawal Code actually came into force on March 1 last year, but the pandemic saw Chorus limit its programme to a small pilot, with just 28 cabinets switched off - which connected fewer than 1 per cent of the 500,000 still on copper.
But you might also be thinking, "Hang on, my telco contacted me about a copper switch-off in my suburb ages ago".
That's because while Chorus is the copper network operator and wholesaler, the lines also involve gear run by Spark.
In July 2020, Spark began a copper withdrawal pilot in Devonport and Miramar.
The telco said the public switched telephone network (PSTN system) that it built to handle copper line phone calls back in its Telecom days had just reached the end of its life, with no manufacturers supporting it anymore.
That old PSTN system was also used by around 10,000 Vodafone customers. In April last year, Vodafone called time on its copper line service.
Telcos say they're happy with the Copper Withdrawal Code, and that there is no need to panic about losing any security or medical monitoring services, or being unable to make a 111 call.
There has been a commercial flash point.
It stems from the fact that, in most urban areas, a household upgrading from copper has two choices: Upgrading to UFB fibre (operated by Chorus or another wholesaler, then sold to consumers by a retailer such as Spark, Vodafone, 2degrees or Orcon) or fixed-wireless - also known as wireless broadband. That's a landline-substitute technology where you get a special modem and router that lets a fixed-area, such as your home or small business receive broadband via a mobile network. On a commercial level, fixed-wireless is a boon to the mobile network operators because it cuts Chorus, and its click of the ticket, out of the loop.
Chorus complained to the Commerce Commission, alleging Spark and Vodafone were being too front-foot in promoting fixed-wireless to people upgrading from copper.
Late last year, the ComCom gave the telcos 60 days to come up with new marketing code that more clearly outlined the choices for people upgrading their broadband.
Technology Users Association of NZ (Tuanz) head Craig Young said it was "a step in the right direction" to reduce what his organisation calls a "confusopoly".
Last week, Paul Brislen - head of the Telecommunications Forum, an industry group that includes Spark, Vodafone, 2degrees, Orcon and Chorus - said final touches had been put on a draft code that would shortly be put in front of the Telecommunications Commissioner (which means it will be too late for the first wave of people getting the snip this week).
Spark and Vodafone said they supported the initiative to create a new marketing code, and that they market both UFB fibre and fixed-wireless as horses-for-courses.
"Fibre is brilliant for high usage customers, while wireless broadband offers 'plug and play' convenience that anyone can easily set up in a few minutes using the mobile network," a Vodafone spokesman told the Herald this morning.
A spokeswoman for Spark said, "Over the past five years, customers have been moving away from this technology in droves, which has provided us with a lot of learning and experience in how to best support customers during these upgrades. We are taking care to help those who need extra support getting set up through our established specialist care team and in-home visits."
And although he sounded alarm bells early in the process, Tuanz head Young says it's now shaping up as a smooth transition.
"Users should not be worried that this is the start of widespread shutdown of the copper network," he told the Herald this morning.
"We argued for strong safeguards on the process and consumers should receive formal notification many months before anything happens to their services."
Young says it is important to note that you can only be forced off copper if there's UFB fibre in your area (in most places, it will be supplied by Chorus) or an equivalent fixed-line service (which in parts of Auckland or Christchurch, could be Vodafone NZ's hybrid cable service).
"If you receive marketing information from their retailer that indicates copper is to be withdrawn then you should request the formal notice from Chorus before being pushed into taking up an alternative service."
Can the telco navigate through its perfect storm?