WA internet lines a mess: union
The copper network used to connect most West Australians to the internet - and at least a third of future connections to the National Broadband Network - is in a state of disrepair, the union representing Telstra workers says.
The WA arm of the Communication Workers Union has supplied The West Australian with more than 300 photographs of various faults in Telstra's copper network across WA, which it says show why some Perth suburbs have consistently faulty internet and phone connections.
The photographs, taken by Telstra workers and contractors over the past two months across Perth and regional WA, show burnt-out connections, Telstra pits filled with water and connections covered with plastic bags and duct tape.
The union claims some faults have existed for more than five years, with workers told to fix the problems with "bandaid" solutions.
Through a spokesman, Telstra chief executive David Thodey gave a commitment that the company would work with the union to address the faulty areas across WA.
CWU WA branch president John O'Donnell said its overstretched workforce already responded to an average of up to 1800 faults a week across WA's copper network. When it rained, he said, the faults "doubled".
The union's concerns were echoed by Federal Labor MP Alannah MacTiernan, who said the "poorly maintained copper network" was the reason why so many Perth suburbs had slow and faulty internet.
In a further complication, Telstra revealed last week the responsibility for the copper network across Australia was set to be handed to NBN Co.
The copper network is needed to connect the NBN to at least 30 per cent of Australian homes under the Abbott Government's fibre-to-the-node NBN policy.
Labor's more expensive fibre-to-the-premises policy, which was abandoned when the coalition took office, generally would not have used the copper network.
Reports have suggested the annual maintenance bill for the copper network Australia-wide could be as high as $1 billion.
NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow questioned that figure and said it had the option to use the fibre-to-the-premises technology if the copper in a given area was not viable. A spokesman for Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull described the photographs of the copper network as a "desperate stunt" by the union and the Labor Party.
He said there was a "very generous" allocation in NBN Co's budget for remediation of faulty copper where it was needed.
