Possible phase-out of copper networks could be dangerous, remote residents say

Alarm bells are ringing for some households in remote parts of the country if Chorus phases out its copper network to replace with fibre instead.

The Commerce Commission has closed submissions on a draft recommendation to deregulate the copper network from rural areas, like it has in urban areas.

The Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith is due to make a decision by the end of the year.

But if it goes ahead, people in rural or remote areas say it will cut off their lifeline as they don't have access to other options to communicate or get help in an emergency.

Robyn lives in Lake Rotoiti near Rotorua. Her household relies on the copper network for its internet connection.

In the bay where Robyn lives, there's no phone signal and their copper landline has been removed so Robyn has to make calls on WI-FI.

Her street relies on the copper network for its internet connection, but if heaps of people are online at the same time, it often is overloaded.

"If you moved here and tried to get a connection you won't be able to. They keep putting more on so every night at peak hour our internet goes down which means our phones go down.

"Then they're telling us they're going to take the copper away but they're not putting fibre here, we've got no cell-phone coverage, and we can't get satellite either as we're in between two hills."

If the copper network is de-regulated, Robyn will have no way to call emergency services.

"That's actually dangerous cause I have some health issues and if my husband's not here and there's someone [not] with me, I've got no ability to call emergency services."

Chorus has to keep the copper network in rural areas, but it has asked the government if it can be freed from that like it has in urban areas.

The Commerce Commission agrees and has drafted a report that it has been taking submissions on. Submissions have now closed.

A Taupo resident - who doesn't want to be named - lives 10 kilometres away from the town centre and relies on the-copper network-for-her-landline-and-internet connection.

There's no phone signal where she lives. If the copper network is taken out earlier, she felt she would have little options to stay connected.

"What these providers want to do is they provide all these really good services and fibre and super-fibre; they provide it to where all the big populations are because it's worth their while but they're not providing it according to any need."

One solution that has been put forward is Starlink - a portable kit that's designed to provide high-speed internet for anywhere.

But the Taupo resident is worried about the reliability of Starlink, especially if there's bad weather.

Craig Young from the Technology Users Association New Zealand said for some people, the network was their lifeline.

"It's Telehealth, it's health and safety, being able to call for ambulances if there's an accident.

"It is about mental health, we know from situations like Cyclone Gabrielle when people can't connect or be connected, mental health suffers as well, it's not just about physical health.

"There's all sorts of impacts if you can't make those connections, let alone it's very hard to actually live and work these days as so much is done online."

Young said affordability of other methods of connection was also a problem. Starlink's residential plan costs $159 per month.

He said people who work from home would also be affected by the potential changes.

"It's not just remote rural that has an issue, but it's anywhere that can't get a decent wireless connection.

"Pushing fibre further is one possibility and so it has to be a programme where not just Chorus look at, but also the National Government to make sure no one is left behind."

Young said Aotearoa didn't have universal service obligations like Australia, so a service didn't have to be installed if there wasn't one already.

Starlink can be vulnerable to bad weather but it's still in its infancy.

Young said over the next few years more satellite providers were likely to come into the market.

"If the deregulation is left until later in the decade, and Chorus have said they do really want to switch the network off by 2030, and I think all of us have some sympathy with them that the network is getting older and less and less people on it.

"But what we need to make sure is that people have other viable, cost-effective options to be able to connect and particularly, in times of emergency."

Mark Hooper from Federated Farmers said he'd like to see more government investment in rural infrastructure.

He said there had been anxiety around the deregulation of the copper network.

"We need to look at the whole infrastructure model, the current government has made infrastructure investment a priority and there's a lot of talk about roads and bridges and other aspects that are desperately needed.

"But I think just as a part of that process we need to make sure we don't lose sight of having a permanent investment in a good fibre network and reaching to as far into rural communities as practical."

Submissions from the report will be finalised for Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith by the end of the year.

He'll then decide whether to go ahead with it.

Chorus general manager Anna Mitchell responsible for its copper retirement programme said fewer than 100,000 New Zealanders were using the copper network.

She said for 97 percent of people remaining on the copper network, there were three alternatives available.

"A geostationary satellite option, low earth orbit satellite [like] a service like Starlink as well as a fixed colour service. So, all New Zealanders are covered by something and for 97 percent they have multiple options."

She said people can opt for Starlink's residential light service which is $79 or the full plan of $159.

There were misconceptions the copper network was particularly reliable, she said.

"We saw in Cyclone Gabrielle services were eight times more faulty on copper than fibre, 10 times more likely in the Auckland floods to go under than fibre.

"If we get a major weather event with copper, we can have entire services washed out that can't be restored for weeks.

"Part of this is putting in perspective. If you have a satellite service with an uninterruptible power supply, you can actually be far more resilient on a service like that than you would be on the copper network."

The copper network would not be shut off overnight, she said.

"We're working through this over the next four or five years and we've been engaging with the government with stakeholders we're working to find those solutions and to make sure that people are comfortable switching."

She said 80,000 households were outside of the fibre network.

"Chorus has been really strong and advocating that we need to extend fibre further, we have put in a bid to the infrastructure priorities pipeline."

Head of Telecommunications at the Commerce Commission Rachael Coyle said the draft decision on copper deregulation was based on data, legal and economic reasoning, but they understood that it didn't fully address some of the concerns rural consumers had raised.

"While we're limited by the legislation in terms of how we can address these concerns, we believe rural copper consumers deserve the same level of protection and consideration that urban consumers received during the urban copper withdrawal process.

"Technological advances mean most rural consumers can now access multiple alternative technologies that are often more reliable and affordable than copper. Rural consumers continue to move off copper and onto cheaper and better performing alternatives in large numbers."

She acknowledged technology change could be difficult for consumers.

"Not all consumers will get their first choice of technology and provider, which also happened in urban areas during copper withdrawal.

"We're making sure that our final decision considers the needs of these consumers and supports them through any possible changes."

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