Westport residents denied broadband upgrade until 2029

File photo / NZ Herald

A Westport couple have been told they cannot upgrade to broadband because Telecom has no more capacity and is not planning an upgrade until 2029.

Kerrie Burrow upgraded her parents' internet to broadband and was sent a new modem by Telecom. But she couldn't get it to work.

She rang Telecom and was told there were no connections available and an upgrade was not scheduled until 2029.

"I said, 'you are kidding me aren't you, you are pulling my leg?'."

Telecom said her parents, who live at Carters Beach just 6km from Westport, could go on a waiting list but could not say how long the wait might be.

"I said to them 'why did you send me the modem?' They said 'because broadband is available in your area'."

Her parents might be dead by the time Telecom could offer them broadband, Ms Burrow said.

Chorus spokeswoman Robin Kelly said Westport customers were connected to a telephone exchange, but Carters Beach customers were connected to a roadside cabinet.

The Carters Beach cabinet had reached its capacity of about 120.

Potential customers would have to wait until a fixed line port became available, which could take several months. There were currently 15 on the waiting list.

Mr Kelly recommended that Ms Burrow consider alternative broadband access such as mobile, wireless or satellite services.

There are a number of different ways for accessing broadband, he said.

The Westport township was unaffected, because its telephone exchange had capacity for hundreds, if not thousands of broadband connections, Mr Kelly said.

Carters Beach relied on just one roadside cabinet.

Roadside cabinets were required as broadband could only operate over a certain distance.

The further you are away from equipment, the slower the speed, and if you reach a certain distance you can't actually access it because you're too far away from the exchange, Mr Kelly said.

Cabinets were needed even in urban areas if the distance from a cabinet exceeded 2km the broadband speed started to drop off significantly.