KEY POINTS:
Pt Chevalier residents were left feeling short-changed last night after a public meeting with Telecom failed to resolve their broadband problem.
More than 100 residents of the area have signed an online petition complaining about poor internet speeds and connections. Some parts of the suburb have not been
able to get the technology at all.
Last night about 80 residents met Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard and Telecom representatives Paul Leslie and Mark Lott at Pt Chevalier School.
Mr Hubbard said broadband was an important utility in the modern world.
"It's not just an optional add-on.
"People are working from home, more students are moving into the area. People are reading the news online instead of buying newspapers.
"People may think that three months out from an election there is a temptation for politicians to use bolder statements but it is absolutely unacceptable.
"I can understand with rural areas it may not work but Pt Chev is six or seven minutes from the CBD," he noted.
"A city such as Auckland not to have broadband ... I do accuse Telecom."
Telecom admitted there were problems, saying one of the reasons for the fault could be the length of the copper loop from the Mt Albert exchange to Pt Chevalier.
Mr Leslie said Telecom planned to install local loops through fibre-fed containers but had to wait for various Government consents.
He said the $2 million job would probably not start until December. "We are keen to do it, we have the plan but we have to wait."
Mr Leslie said the long lines had worked well in the past but with the number of broadband users increasing and websites using more graphics, changes had to be made.
The Mt Albert exchange was also being upgraded, which could increase speed.
But the explanation wasn't enough for residents like Alex Woodley, a researcher who works from home on Pt Chevalier Rd.
"We know it will cost $2 million but we are saying, 'Do it now'," she said.
"We don't want to wait until December. We should be on the top of the list. We are an inner-city suburb, it's unacceptable. What other community has come out and met with you like this?"
She asked whether the work would be done sooner if residents came up with the money. However, Mr Leslie said Telecom would still have to wait for consents.
Other residents said they would like discounts or refunds. Telecom had no response.
Mr Hubbard said the city council was looking at what part it could play.
"I do not have any definitive answers but there is work going on behind the scenes."
At the meeting's end Telecom gathered residents' phone numbers and promised to call people back, saying they might have "individual issues in terms of equipment".
