North Canterbury News: November 25, 2021

NEWS
North Canterbury News, November 25, 2021
Internet woes cause frustration
By ROBYN BRISTOW
Spark customersinseveral areas of
theWaimakariridistrictare fed up.
They are angryatextremely slow, or
in some cases no internet service
since early last week,and at Spark’s
responsetothe problem.
Customers took to social media to
share their problems, and bombarded
Spark in increasing numbers
demandingafix.
After more than aweek of problems
forsome customersSpark finally
admitted on Tuesdaymorning,
November 23, it had aproblem, and
‘‘wantstoassure customers it is on the
case now, and in addition to that this
work is being given urgency’’.
It told the NorthCanterburyNews
that in lateOctoberthere was afault
on the fibre network which resultedin
some Spark customersinthe
Waimakariri and Rangiora areas
experiencing adegraded internet
service.
‘‘We knowhow much our customers
relyoninternetconnectivity,sowe
apologise forany inconvenience this
may have caused.
‘‘We havebeen working withChorus
to urgently fix the fault, however there
has been unforeseen delaysdue to the
complexity of the fix –whichrequires
traffic management approval to repair
the fibre underneath the motorway.
‘‘Therehave also beendelays in
sourcing the parts required.’’
Spark says because traffic
management approval has not yet
beengranted,aninterim solution has
beenidentified to restore connectivity
thatwas to be implemented on
Tuesdayevening at 11pm (November
23).
‘‘Weare aware that some of our
customers were incorrectly advised
that theconnectivity issue was due to
theirmodems,and we apologise for
this incorrect advice beingprovided.
‘‘Forany customers who purchased
anew modem basedonthis advice,we
ask you to get in touch with us directly
so we can issuearefund.
‘‘We’dalso like to remindour
customers that if they have aSpark
mobile or landline with us, theycan
activate ‘connection promise’–which
provides customersfree mobiledata
or national calling.’’
‘‘Thiscan be activatedthroughtheir
MySpark account or by getting in touch
with us directly. More information
aboutconnection promisecan be
foundatwww.spark.co.nz/help/
internet/manage/connectionpromise.’’
This comes after hundredsof
customers eitherrang the callcentre
for help, took to social media, or went
to themedia.
Many remain furiousthey weretold
it was their modem,and havereplaced
it, onlytodiscoverthe problem
remained. They are out of pocketand
are furious it was nothing to do with
theirindividualconnection.
SherylJohnson, from Swannanoa,
says her problems began lastTuesday,
more than aweek ago,after apower
outage.
Sheryl worksfrom home as many
others in the districtdo, and is
frustrated at thelength of timeand the
impact it has had on her work while
the problem receivedattention.
She relies on the internet for her
business,havinghad to look for
alternative incomeafter the tourism
industry took ahit from Covid­19,and
associatedrestrictions.
Sherylisnot alone in workingfrom
home, withmany home industries
operating in the Waimakariri district,
5
Internet woes ... Many residents have
suffered internet loss on their home
computers in the past week.
PHOTO: FILE
and many electing to workfrom home
rather than commute to workevery
day.
For some in the Okuku­Loburn area,
whose problemsset in aweek ago, it
appearedthere was afix, only to have
the problem return the next day.
Spark told severalcustomers
eventually after they persisted in
trying to get answers, there was a
problem, but they were havingtrouble
locatingit.
Customers soughthelp from
WaimakaririMayor Dan Gordon, and
local media, while in one area thereis
now over 80 in agroup thatare
targetingSparktoget afix.
Our little 6kg pocket rocket, Vito, is available for adoption!
Vito is an adventurous little 3-year-old male Chihuahua
cross, who is clever, active, &looking for acareful balance
of love and boundaries, for him to thrive! Vito is de-sexed,
vaccinated, flea/wormed, microchipped, Council registered
and vet checked.
Vito must go to averyexperiencedowner who can implement
boundaries &training. NO small animals/cats, not fond of
large dogs. Small dog of similar energy may be OK. Children
only if aged 6+. Property must be fully fenced, no holes/gaps
&nofull time workers, Vito needs day time company.
IF you meet the above criteria download the Adoption
Application here: www.nzchihuahuarescue.co.nz/vito
NO adoptions via email or phone.
New Zealand Chihuahua Rescue is a registered New
Zealand Charity that assists Chihuahuas, crossbreeds and
toy dogs. www.nzchihuahuarescue.co.nz
2438190
organisers of
the Waimakariri
Community
Christmas Lunch
Due to the uncertainty around covid
restrictions, it is with much regret
that the Trustees of the Reflections
Community Trust have decided
to cancel this year’s Waimakariri
Community Christmas Lunch.
Thank you for your understanding.
We look forward to this event
returning on Christmas Day in 2022.
Trustees of Reflections Community Trust
2437507
Black Friday
SALE
35%OffMarked
Priceonall
Kaiwaka
Clothing
35%
Off
OFFERSENDEND
30NOV‘21
Incredible savings on
selected STIHL products,
plus loads more
deals in-store
OFFERSEND 30 NOV‘21
STIHL RE 88
Electric Waterblaster
Now
$250
SAVE $45
while stocks last
Go Orange
On Black Friday
STIHL BG 50
Petrol Blower
STIHL HS 46 C-E 550mm
Petrol Hedgetrimmer
Super Saving!
while stocks last
Now
$460
SAVE $485
Stock In-store Only
CUB CADET RZTS 42
Zero Turn mower
2Le
Black
Friday
Sale!
Now
$7,500
SAVE $500
■ 22HP Kohler Courage
■ V-twinEngine
■ 42”Sidedischarge
■ deck
■ Zero Turn Steering
■ wheelcontrol
LAWNMASTER 450 ALLOY
Rotary Mower
3 Le
Black
Friday
Sale!
Now
$395
SAVE $150
■ 490mm(19”) cut
■ Alloy-No Rustydeck
■ Briggs &Stratton
Engine
STIHL MS 18014”
Petrol Chainsaw
Now
$345
SAVE $50
Now
$295
SAVE $30
STIHL FS 38
Petrol
Line Trimmer
Now
$195
SAVE $30