I received a letter saying the NBN is now available in my area. I am currently on VDSL2 which gets speeds of 20+mbs at the moment. should I change over or should I wait till they close down the vdsl.

Fred they won't / can't shut down the wireless services that are working so well for you.

Yes Ian, I could not understand the statement that the NBN will cut off all other services! I'll bet Telstra would have something to say about that! I guess what GTC means is the existing ADSL and phone on the copper line will be shut down ONLY. Seems to me that wireless will simply supercede an already outdated fibre optic system, so what is the use of the NBN company in the future?
Fred.

I guess what GTC means is the existing ADSL and phone on the copper line will be shut down

Correct.

I am currently on VDSL2 which gets speeds of 20+mbs at the moment. should I change over or should I wait till they close down the vdsl.

Your ISP (and their competitors) should be contacting you about that. Once NBN goes live in an area -- and just beforehand -- letter boxes are usually spammed with offers.

Vdsl is a separate cable into the back of my house. I first thought it was cable TV. It's completely separate from the Telstra phone lines. My issue is that my existing service is already fast. I'm hoping the NBN is better again.

Would not get excited with NBN speed, if that is what it is? Also noting that several calls coming in that have passed through NBN are "scratchy" like a bad FM signal. Love 4G (4th go: still no good) here, more dropouts than a High School & I get more Bah's in the Sheep paddock: Hopeless.

It's completely separate from the Telstra phone lines

Is that iiNet's fibre to the node VDSL service? If so, ask iiNet what the situation is vis-a-vis NBN.

I really don't care about the process Telstra is the ISP & they provided the Modem in my case. I do not have the phone via NBN its still landline.

We are resisting change due to redundancy issues and Mobile Phone issues. I am around 8Km as the crow flies from a town and they have just put up a mobile tower about 2Km away, probably to service a yet to be built housing & horse paddock area: Yet another tower in the wrong place.

But the fact remains, as it has from the time Mobile was introduced here over twenty years ago, that the signal strength is still patchy, & crap.

Re the switching off of the Telstra services 18 months after NBN available. THAT IS the plan at least in metro areas but the rural areas are a bit of a problem due to the distances involved.

Essentially Telstra is backing out of switching telephone calls via the copper network & in future ALL calls to what was landline phones will be VOIP switched with each and every ISP doing their own switching etc.
I expect standards to slip so be prepared for some fun & games once all these ISP's get into the phone call switching game !!

Telstra has serious plans of recovering ALL of their digital switching machines nationwide AND the main cables which radiate out to the street pillars from whence NBN will be doing the interconnecting.
Generally the main cables are all in pristine nick as under gas pressure & mostly are or were paper insulated with a smattering of plastic cable in later years installed much of which was jelly filled rather than have it pressurised with dry air 10PSI as are the paper insulated cables. In all those cables there is lots of lead & copper & is easily recovered as generally are all in ducts so can easily be hauled out & chopped into 1M lengths & carted off for scrap so BIG $$$'s involved.
Most if not all of the quite large Junction cables that once interconnected various exchanges have already been recovered & scrapped nationwide with quite a healthy boost to Telstra's bottom line..would love to know just how much though.
As digital transmission overtook analogue transmission copper cables were not up to it for high capacity & optic fibre became the norm pretty much everywhere in Telstra's network & beyond into business premises & the like. Optic has even gone beyond being used by only the Telcos as my son frequently uses it for long comms runs that are beyond Cat 5 type cable limits with a wide range of gear available to comms contractors nowadays.

So folks IF you do NOT migrate to to NBN after the 18 month period elapses your old POTS telephone service will suddenly cease.
Lindsay

I haven't had a POTS service at home (Belrose in Sydney) for nearly 10 years & I haven't missed it.

My only internet connection is 3G / 4G. The 3G seems to give better service where I am, maybe because nearly everyone else is now on 4G!

As I went from a dialup internet service ADSL was simply not readily available in the location but had good 3G coverage so went with a Telstra Wifi dongle which I still use when travelling but the data costs were ridiculous from Telstra. That was using it as Prepaid but on one of their plans was somewhat better but did not want to do that as plans tend to lock one into cumbersome deals. Prepaid gives one better degree of flexibility in my view BUT costs.

So swapped to Dodo which is carried by Optus & got almost double the data for the same price but Optus service here was VERY patchy so Internet was a bit hit & miss but OK enuff for Emails. Bought an external antenna for the Dodo dongle & a long cable to go with it & mounted it up my house eves & bingo quite reliable coverage unless it was very wet.

Stuck with that for a number of years until ADSL became more readily available here & went with iiNet from then on with a Wireless router a VOIP line and an the old POTS line. The VOIP has improved since first getting it so what we all will see in future is very much similar quality to the old POTS services being phased out.

I really don't care about the process Telstra is the ISP

My question is to Carl in response to his comment.

kakadumh: Regarding network asset disposal, note the underlined paragraphs in the quote below.

QUOTE:
Telstra hands over copper, HFC in new $11bn NBN deal
Value of 2011 deal remains intact.

[December 2014]

Telstra will hand over ownership of its copper and hybrid fibre-coaxial networks while remaining committed to its structural separation under renegotiated definitive agreements with NBN Co that retain the $11 billion value of the 2011 deal.

Telstra and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull today announced the re-signing of the landmark deal, which will see NBN Co continue to pay Telstra $5 billion in infrastructure payments, $4 billion in disconnection payments and $2 billion in Commonwealth agreements.

Telstra CEO David Thodey has repeatedly stated that the carrier would be seeking equivalent value at the minimum from any renegotiated deal.

The new agreement will continue to see Telstra disconnect premises from its copper and HFC broadband networks within the NBN footprint, but rather than decommission the networks, NBN Co will take over ownership of the copper and HFC for the purpose of using them where it sees fit in for its multi-technology NBN rollout.

NBN Co will also become responsible for the operations and maintenance of the two assets.

It will similarly take over remediation of Telstra's pits, pipes and ducts. Telstra will provide a "remediation credit" to NBN Co in exchange for its reduced obligations to remediate ducts and pits at the same value as Telstra's original remediation cost considerations.

Despite previously highlighting its desire to retain ownership over copper and HFC, Telstra opted to hand over the assets in exchange for rights to continue to use the HFC network to deliver pay TV services.

Under new continuity deeds in the agreement, Telstra will remain able to use the copper and HFC networks to serve its retail and wholesale customers while the assets are progressively transferred to NBN Co.

Licenses for the HFC network will be in place until Telstra no longer provides pay TV services.

Telstra did not seek any changes to its structural separation undertaking, which it will continue to meet through the disconnection of premises on its copper and HFC assets, and through transferring their ownership to NBN Co as the network rolls out.

Telstra has also secured asset disposal restrictions should NBN Co sell the HFC or copper network after ownership is transferred.

The restrictions would in certain circumstances require an acquirer - such as another large retail service provider - to enter into a direct agreement with Telstra to purchase the assets.

GTC I am not really sure of that. It is a rather thick cable coing into the back of the house and the connection in the house is just via a wall socket. Unless the end gear is in the roof I cant see anything else. I can say that it is a really good service and dont really want to take the chance in going backwards.