@NBNHASBINFORCEDUPONU, many of us have negative feelings towards the NBN.
I recently had the opportunity to put my concerns directly to our local Federal MP and the Federal Minister for Communications. It is very evident the outgoing government is not going to change anything fundamental to change the flawed plan that is delivering the NBN. The NBN is off the LNP agenda this election, with the previous election giving them a mandate to flog it off ASAP assuming they are back in? The ALP is also keeping a low profile on the NBN.
Separately we faced a similar situation to yours with our 90+ yr old Mum/M-in-Law.
The first decision we made was to defer doing anything with the NBN until the last few months before the cut off date. That simply reflected a desire that life is forever vs the uncertainty of the future.
This allowed us time to consider all the options, for technology to improve and a hope for the members of the government to experience a moment before their respective god/s and repent!
Time passed and there has been no miracle.
6 months ago Telstra installed the magic box of lights and switched our ‘mum’ over to the NBN FTTN service.
One of the family managed this and attended for the in home works. This was to be sure the changeover was completed in full on the day and worked. Also that the existing home phone was retained and sat in the same place in the house! The solution is not perfect. Telstra offers a basic home phone service over the NBN that was suitable, although billing is now monthly, which is a pain for a cash over the counter consumer.
There are more sophisticated options with mobile network fall back and battery UPS backup. The mobile phone alternative is by far the cheapest way to go. This assumes the local area has a reliable service as @PhilT pointed out. Our private home has similar issues with poor mobile coverage. It is not a guaranteed service. Neither is the NBN!
We found there are options for an oversized handset or mobile based phones. Very elderly hands and smart phones or small buttons with failing eye sight do not work. One option:
Note:
There is a Community topic on NBN for the elderly if you have not caught up with the content.
And a slightly old Choice guide.
