They have had 18 months notice and NBN assures us, received five or six reminder notices.

But, come February 9, their only way to connect directly to phone lines and the internet will be via the NBN lines.

It will be goodbye to a copper network that has served us well for many years and hello to an uncertain future.

Despite grand statements from politicians and assurances from NBN bosses the reality for those who have switched over is that the speed of the service is no where near what was promised.

The NBN has admitted only one in four customers connecting through fibre-to-the-node technology in the mix will receive its top speeds.

The disclosure, to a parliamentary committee, shows that when the rollout finishes around Australia in 2020, three out of four fibre-to-the-node customers won’t get the 100 Mbps download speed.

Fibre-to-the-node uses fibre to the nearest neighbourhood node and copper wire to houses and businesses.

Anyone who has had the benefit of direct cable to their premises [essentially in the capital cities] will tell you the NBN on offer in Orange is no quicker, and in peak times, appears slower.

The Central Western Daily has been contacted regularly by customers unhappy with the NBN speeds.

And we have received complaints from businesses whose connection to the outside world simply disappeared during the switchover to the NBN.

Many had to rely on staff members’ mobile phones.

One pharmacy had to send staff out to suppliers and other businesses to let them know they were still operating.

The NBN should have been the bright and shiny vision sold to us many years ago.

Instead it appears to be a patch-up job with cables to nodes rather than to houses and businesses.

If Orange is to become a cyber hotspot attracting businesses to relocate here on the basis that good internet will ensure they can operate away from the capital cities the NBN has to work fast and efficiently.

But we’ve yet to be convinced that is going to happen.