How an independent technician worksNot NBN Co, not an ISP

From the first phone call to the report you keep.

What happens before, during and after a visit, what you have at the end of it, and where our work stops.

How a visit works

A visit has five steps. It starts with a conversation and ends with the findings in writing, whoever they point to.

  1. The call

    Tell us what the connection is doing.

    Many faults narrow down in that first conversation, before anyone drives anywhere.

  2. Booking

    Book, with the fee in front of you.

    The service call covers the first hour on site and the travel, and you see it before you book.

  3. On site

    We test, one thing at a time.

    We start at your socket and work back towards the network boundary, one test at a time, each one ruling something in or out, until the pattern shows where the fault is.

  4. The fix

    What's on your side gets fixed.

    If the fault is in your wiring, a socket, the modem or the way things are connected, it's fixed on the visit wherever it can be. Materials are quoted before any work that needs them, and if the job will run past the first hour, you're told before the hour ends.

  5. After

    You get it in writing.

    Every service call ends with a written summary by email: what we tested, what we found, and whose side of the boundary it's on. If it's on the network's side, fixing it is your provider's job. We can't make anyone fix their side, but if you want us with you all the way, we do everything in our power to get you a result.

How we find a fault

Testing equipment does not point to a problem. It gives you readings. You test one thing here and one thing there, and you recognise the pattern.

That is how we find faults. The equipment matters, and we carry the right equipment, but the same reading can mean a bad joint in the street, an old socket still connected to the line, or a modem in the wrong port. Telling them apart comes from having seen the pattern before.

It is also why the fault is so often somewhere other than where you were told.

324

filmed fault jobs in our own study

56%

proven not to be in the customer's cabling

Read the study

What we do, and what we don't

What you get from us is the fault found, your side fixed, and the rest in writing.

Your side

What we do

  • Test everything on your side of the network boundary
  • Fix what's on your side while we're there, wherever we can
  • Put what we found in writing, whoever it points to
  • Prepare detailed reports for your provider if you need them
  • Speak to your provider for you, if you want us with you

The network's side

What we don't do

  • Test inside NBN's network, because we aren't NBN
  • Connect into NBN's network
  • Promise a speed
  • Promise that a provider will fix its side, or how long it will take

A fault visit and a cabling job

Two kinds of visit, priced two ways.

Fault finding

What it is
Something has stopped or is playing up, and nobody knows why yet
How it's priced
The service call, $250 inc. GST, set before you book
On the day
Testing from your socket to the boundary, then your side fixed
Warranty
90 days if the original fault comes back

Cabling or installation

What it is
A cable run, a moved NBN box, a conduit or a new socket
How it's priced
Quoted in writing first; an estimate from photos is free
On the day
The job done to the written quote
Warranty
12 months on workmanship; parts under the maker's warranty

Not sure which yours is? Describe it on the phone and we'll tell you. How quotes are priced

What it costs

Service call · fault finding

$250 inc. GST

  • First hour on site
  • Travel up to 40 km
  • Testing and diagnosis
  • Free basic report by email

Travel is measured from our Sutherland Shire office. Every other charge, from extra time to travel further out, is on the pricing page. See every price

The reports

Three levels. The first comes with every service call; which of the others you need depends on what you'll do with it.

  1. Basic report Free

    A short written summary by email: what we tested, what we found, and whose side of the boundary it is on.

  2. Standard report $55 inc. GST

    A detailed PDF with the findings, the test results and our recommendations. No photos or video.

  3. Full escalation report $185 inc. GST

    Everything in the standard report, plus photos and video of the testing. The report for proving the fault is on NBN's side: written for escalation to your provider or the carrier, a refund claim, or a TIO complaint.

Photos and video of the testing are part of the full escalation report, not of every job. Full pricing

Before you book

Do the free checks first. Book if they don't settle it.

Some faults are something you can check yourself. The guide covers the ones we'd ask you about on the phone.

Book a technicianSee every price

Questions about a visit

Do I need to be home for the visit?

Yes. An adult needs to be there for the whole visit.

Can you tell what's wrong over the phone?

Often we can narrow it down. Describe what the connection does and when: it drops out every afternoon, it's slow at night, it stopped when it rained. A lot of faults can be worked out from that conversation before anyone drives anywhere, and sometimes the answer is something you can check yourself.

What should I do before I book?

Ask your provider whether there's a known outage, and note what the lights on the NBN box are doing. For a cabling job, send photos of where things are and where you want them, with a rough distance in metres. That's usually enough for an estimate.

What if the fault is on NBN's side?

Then fixing it is your provider's job, and we can't make them do it. You still get the findings in writing, and the full escalation report, with photos and video of the testing, is what you send them. Some providers refund the call-out when we find the fault is on NBN's side after NBN or the provider said it was in your property. That is the provider's decision, so we cannot promise it.

Will I get a report even if you fix it on the day?

Yes. Every service call ends with a short written summary by email, whether the fault was fixed on the day or points to the network.

Do you film the job?

Filming is routine, and it's your choice. You can ask us not to use your job, and a name or an address is never published without consent.

Ask us anything