Some residents and business owners have just over two months to move most conventional phone, ADSL and Telstra cable internet services to the NBN.
The ACT suburb of Gungahlin was among the first in the country to join the NBN, and as a result some residents and business owners have just over two months to move most conventional phone, ADSL and Telstra cable internet services to the NBN before they are switched off on 17 July 2014.
The first area to be affected lies to the east of Gungahlin Lake and Yerrabi Pond, and south-west of Horse Park Drive.
"We particularly want to reach out to anyone currently using a medical alarm," said NBN Co spokesperson Trent Williams.
"To make sure they're prepared they will need to contact their preferred phone company or internet service provider along with their alarm provider to put in an order for their service over the NBN. We also encourage them to put their details in the NBN Co Medical Alarm Register so that we can take additional steps to ensure they have a smooth migration to the NBN."
Information about making the switch is available from the NBN web site.
We suggest they should also use the switch-off as a spur to check whether a different phone provider or ISP can provide a more appropriate plan or tariff than the one they are currently on. There's nothing stopping them changing providers unless they are under a contract that extends past 28 September.
However, we are not recommending that the decision comes down to price alone. While all providers servicing the area will eventually be using the NBN, that doesn't mean they will all offer the same performance or customer service.
NBN Co is communicating directly with affected residents.
Other parts of Gungahlin are variously scheduled to switch over on 31 July, 28 September, 23 October, 21 December, and 30 December.
