Optus is reportedly switching off the phone and cable broadband connections of its customers without warning, as the telco continues to push customers off its HFC network and onto the NBN.
An investigation by Fairfax published in the Sydney Morning Herald also found that, in some cases, Optus was blaming the NBN or the government in general for the disconnections and for the short window given to customers to switch from its own HFC network to a fibre NBN service.
Last week, it was reported that Optus was strong-arming some of its customers onto the NBN with a 30-day deadline, significantly shorter than the 18-month switchover period required by the NBN. In response to Fairfax’s original story, Optus extended the deadline to 90 days.
Multiple Optus customers in Sydney and Melbourne reported receiving limited notice before being disconnected, in some cases permanently losing long-held phone numbers. Some customers were also told they would need to sign up to the NBN through Optus to be reconnected.
Optus’ HFC network covers about two million premises across the country.
The telco said it was in contact with affected customers, and would be providing compensation for the loss of telephone and broadband services.
“Optus acknowledges that it is not the government or NBN that is driving Optus’ decision to quickly migrate customers to the national broadband network,” a spokesperson told Fairfax.
“Our intention is always to ensure customers are able to transition to the NBN in a seamless way, however, we have identified that some customers were recently disconnected and left without service.”
