As the date for switch off of the copper network looms, Telstra Wholesale’s Senior Service Manager, Kelly McGuckin, explains why customers need to take action now to safeguard their users’ services.

The reality of copper disconnection for business grade data services is finally upon us.

Everyone on legacy copper services in the relevant nbn rollout regions must move to an alternate technology. Importantly, we want to work with you to safeguard your planning around some of the challenges, ensuring a smooth transition for both you and your customers.

At Telstra Wholesale, we only have one measure of a successful migration - no end users without a service come that end date. We are here to help you get ready for the change – and to move your customers onto a more flexible and future-proof fibre service.

To do this requires detailed communication and planning. Twelve months might appear a long time to get your house in order, but the longer you leave migration, the less control you’re going to have over the process and less time you’ll have to manage any issues, should they occur.

All customers need to move their services before the deadline date, to avoid cut off. We recommend a migration process to ensure smooth transition before the cut-off date passes. Some customers will find it useful to pilot or test the solution prior to the changeover, which will require additional time.

Many of you might be used to exemptions to disconnection when you’ve migrated other services as part of a product exit, but for copper services in nbn rollout regions, there will be no exemptions to disconnection. This means that if you leave it late and issues arise, the worst-case scenario could eventuate - customers with no service.

But there is a significant upside to the move. Our Ethernet Access fibre solution is more reliable than copper, with a much higher capacity, which will give your customers room for growth which they may need going forward. And our Ethernet Access solution over nbn TC2 is also now available.

So how do we get through the migration process together? We’ve outlined three basic stages for you and your customers to follow.

Evaluate pathway solutions

By now, many of you will have received information from your service manager about the services that will be disconnected. All of the impacted copper services which are due to be disconnected in the first window have been identified and pre-assessed, to see if they can be migrated straight to a fibre solution. And we know the bandwidth and our current copper monthly rental charge for each connection. This information is critical as it allows you to create a plan around your migration to fibre and to fully understand what’s required.

Pilot / test new technologies

One of the biggest reasons to migrate early is to allow time to pilot or test any new technologies required as part of the process.
 

Migration / rollout across network

Once you’re happy that everything is tested, set-up and in place, you can migrate across hassle-free to a more reliable fibre service, which means happier customers for you.

There is a number of operational and commercial reasons why Telstra Wholesale is best suited to protect your business continuity throughout migration, whether this is our Ethernet Access solution on fibre or nbn TC2.

One of the biggest reasons is the vast experience we have in handling mass migrations and executing on time. Our current on time delivery for Ethernet access delivery sits at 95% for Category 1-3 access fibre orders.

Finally, a team of highly dedicated specialists at Telstra Wholesale is ready and willing to make your migration process as smooth and hassle-free as possible.