Dear Beagle Editor, WHERE, OH WHERE HAS MY INTERNET GONE? Mr Turnbull once referred to it as the “Rolls Royce” of technology. But for those of us reliant on the Sky Muster satellite service, it’s more like a billy cart – although at least a billy cart will still work in the rain. Apart from download speeds that remain the same (so far), the new Sky Muster service is much less reliable, suffers from ‘rain fade’(intermittent when overcast) and won’t work at all on rainy days. Consequently, download quotas are often eaten up due to having to reconnect, resulting in providers reducing download speeds. Subscribers were promised a “faster more reliable service” by NBN Co and providers. In fact, it is still being advertised as such on satellite TV where the cast of ‘customers’ actually sing the merits of the Sky Muster service. Some might call It ‘false advertising.’ Many would call it a blatant lie! The Sky Muster service has a capacity of 400,000 subscribers. At present there are 70,000 regional, rural and remote users – all reliant on a ‘crappy’ service for business, education, banking, communication etc. Why are we having to pay for a promised service that is not being supplied? NBN Co provide no outage information or support service for complaints. There is no accountability. NBN Co and providers simply point the finger at each other. According to Bill Morrow, CEO of NBN Co, it will take 6 to 12 months to resolve the issues with the Sky Muster service. I would like Mr Morrow to justify his $3.3 m annual salary, when his company has failed to deliver a promised service that is vital to regional and remote customers. Also, as the service came online in May last year, what is the justification for the tripling of his bonuses to $1.2 m in that year, when the service was plagued with problems from the start? And to Mr Turnbull - What metaphor would you now use to characterize the Sky Muster service? It’s time the Government stepped in to: * ensure service issues are resolved quickly, * hold those responsible for this debacle to account, * ensure customers are compensated for a service they are paying for but not receiving, * ensure provisions are made for the dissemination of outage information and the creation of support services for subscribers. Patricia Gardiner Deua River Valley
