Several households in Griffith experiencing ongoing interruptions to their internet connection will finally see a resolution when the National Broadband Network Co buries a cable exposed on the street for months.
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Residents were initially told the cable, which currently runs across a footpath and road on Carstensz Street, would remain until a public housing development on the corner of Bremer Street was complete.
The trip hazard was in the path of heavy vehicles accessing the build site, creating potential for frequent ongoing service interruptions.
Peter McCawley said his house had already lost connection three times since the temporary NBN "patch" was erected in the street three months ago.
He said they'd had problems with the internet on their street for several months, believed to be the result of ongoing construction, but this ad-hoc solution seemed to fall short.
"Remarkably, this patch runs up the path, in the open, on top of the pavement, for anybody to trip over," Mr McCawley said.
"It's a very strange thing."
Mr McCawley said when he spoke to the NBN technician he was told nothing could be done until the ACT government completed the public housing development.
The Bremer Street development was scheduled for completion in late June 2021.
An ACT Housing spokesperson said NBN Co had attached the cable to the Bremer Street development's security fence in October, in response to reports of service interruptions.
"The builder requested the cable be removed from the fence as it was preventing site access and NBN Co relocated the cable to its current position," the spokesperson said.
"Housing ACT did not support the relocation and contacted NBN Co in December 2020 to rectify the placement."
Following enquiries from The Canberra Times, a spokesperson for NBN Co said its technicians had visited the site on Friday to ensure the cable was secure and not being damaged by passing traffic.
"We are committed to connecting all homes and businesses to the fast, secure and reliable internet that the NBN provides," the spokesperson said.
"In this case, a temporary solution was implemented as we worked to obtain the necessary approvals to move the cabling underground.
"This work is set to begin on 18 January and should be completed early February.
"We apologise for any inconvenience associated with the temporary solution."
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Federal Communications Minister Paul Fletcher announced a $4.5 billion upgrade to NBN in September, the biggest update since 2013.
It means around 8 million homes would be able to access broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second by 2023 - 6 million more than at present. The investment was expected to create 25,000 jobs.