Russell Bell: UFB dreams deflated by reality of rollout

Russell Bell PHOTO/FILE

IAM using my column this week to make an announcement to friends and associates ...

If you are trying to contact us on our home phone, it isn't working. Why? Because we have "upgraded" to ultrafast broadband (UFB).

The rollout of UFB has been delivered with a certain amount of fanfare and I have been a supporter. However, like all things when you make a transition (particularly in the case where you are doing it with a third party) it is important to go in with all of the information - and there are a number of details which those trumpeting the upgrade have been pretty quiet on.

The first - and most challenging at this time - is the situation with landline-based phones. We were advised by the technician to plug in the phone and wait three hours. That was okay, we thought, however the phone now continues to beep in an "out of order" fashion.

Contact has been made with the internet service provider (ISP) who has forwarded us email instructions which resemble a space shuttle launch code book. The news gets gloomier as friends and associates report that the aforementioned instructions are a fun exercise in futility and that they await further contact from the ISP.

The most concerning aspect for myself as a new user is that the much-touted speed increase, while evident from "speed test" websites, is actually not that noticeable when using technology. This was explained on installation day as being subject to the availability and processing speeds of the websites visited. The ability of your own technology (that is, older computers) to process the flow of bits and bytes also hinders the speed of transaction. Really?

So what you have is a situation where you find yourself sitting and waiting for what should be instantaneous response. I'm not frustrated but I am concerned that such an important rollout doesn't really deliver what was promised.

It is an important lesson for all businesses in terms of managing the expectations of users of a product or service and, in my case, perhaps my enthusiasm should have been tempered by a dose of realism and research.

Speaking of realism, thanks to all who responded so positively to last week's missive on the withdrawal of the Air New Zealand service to Whanganui.

Apart from an interesting Twitter exchange with Jetstar, the feedback was confirming much of what was written by me and others over the last week. The discourse also opened up highly relevant questions about matters such as lounge access and connection with international flights.

Although there was sterling work behind the scenes from our local MP Chester Borrows, it would have been nice to have heard from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and its point of view on how such an action by a majority-owned government entity would impact a key contributor to the outcomes of the recently published regional growth study.

**Balance Consulting specialises in business strategy, process excellence and leadership mentoring. Contact Russell on 021 244 2421 or John Taylor on 027 499 5872.