Warning to anyone looking at moving into the area serviced by the Greenhithe telephone exchange. Don't bank on being able to access the internet using broadband.
We tried to sign up this week only to be told by Telecom that the exchange is full and won't be upgraded until October 2010. Until then our only chance of getting broadband is to go on a waiting list. If someone either elects to forego their connection or disconnects whilst in the process of moving house then we may be lucky. Otherwise we are stuck with dial-up.
Other ISP's can offer no help either as they say Telecom own the lines and will give any free connections to their customers first.
There is still alot of development going on in Greenhithe. I can't imagine all these new residents are going to be satisfied with dial-up for the next 18months yet are probably totally unaware that the problem exists.

Hi there
Would you be keen to speak to me about this, I'm a journalist for The Aucklander community newspaper. If so, email me please: valerie.schuler@theaucklander.co.nz

If anyone has any further information on this can you please reply to this thread or email info@greenhithe.org.nz. It may be a cause that the Ratepayers Association and council need to take up with Telecom and the other ISPs.

I think it's pretty easy to understand. If you look at sites like Orcon and the types of service they offer, there's a clear distinction between 2 types of broadband. What that amounts to is that areas like ours in Greenhithe are still under the "old" ADSL type, but there's been upgrades to ADSL in various parts of Auckland. It's that upgrade to ADSL 2 that's allowing non Telecom service providers the ability to offer the faster speeds and enhanced services.

The old system requires some large volume of space for cabinets, etc, while the newer one can be managed with smaller space requirements. So, as the original poster implied, Telecom are fresh out, while the other exchanges that have been upgraded probably aren't facing this same issue.

Now, what's been maddening to me about the service is the plans to upgrade and when they will occur. It boggles my mind that relatively sparsely populated areas such as Dairy Flat already have this service, while the area between Albany/Glenfield and Western Auckland is obviously on the tail end of the plan. Really? A thriving, vibrant and growing community is being put behind the plans for an area with fewer people on lifestyle plots?

It's not just about broadband capability, it's a quality of service, bandwidth speeds and yes, other enhanced services that we're missing out on that are ultimately going to cost us more for a poorer service until they can be upgraded. It's obvious to see when you look at the Orcon site and the costs you incur when you're on the Plus network type bandwidth versus the "regular" or old network.

I have moved here three weeks ago from Campbells Bay and although I had to get a new Telecom phone number it was no problem to bring my Telecom broadband package with me.