As many longer-term Prince Henry residents would know, Landcom’s management of its Network Management Services Agreement (NMSA) with Pivit was an ongoing source of frustration for Prince Henry residents, over a number of years, in general and in particular for the Prnce Henry Community Association Executive Committee (which comprises owner-volunteers).

In effect, Landcom put in place what would turn out to be a monopoly telecoms network, by all indications then failing to engage with or monitor the performance of said provider on residents’ behalf. This left residents with many years of inadequate service levels, no effective recourse, and — perhaps most significantly with the advent of the NBN — no alternative with regard to choice of retail service provider.

The NMSA was for the provision of a range of communication services, including: fixed line voice services, internet, free-to-air and pay TV (Foxtel); and email services for a period of 25 years commencing 1 May 2007. It should be noted that Pivit withdrew its email service at short notice some years ago and then reinstated it a few months later, after customers had been forced to find an alternative email provider.

Landcom ultimately advised the CA in April 2020 that it was intending to allow Pivit’s repudiation of the NMSA, and would commence the legal dissolution of its contractual relationship through the termination of the NMSA. Having breached its obligations under the terms of the NMSA, Pivit would then be able to depart without accountability for those breaches, and both Landcom and Pivit would be free of their obligations under the terms of the NMSA. This is precisely what happened.

The CA has requested the NSW Ombudsman to review Landcom’s management of the NMSA over the period from 2007 to 2020 in reference to key issues of concern, with particular reference to the nature of the original tender process, the seeming failure of Landcom to administer the NMSA in the best interests of Prince Henry residents, and the manner in which both Landcom and Pivit were able to simply ‘walk away’ from the NMSA without consequence.

A number of supporting documents were attached to the CA’s submission, including a more detailed background of the telecoms situation at Prince Henry.

If you wish to view the submission in full please contact your managing agent, where there is one, or the CA’s managing agent, where there is no managing agent.

Important Note

It’s important for all Prince Henry residents to know that telecoms service concerns are the responsibility of the individual user — if necessary, via relevant federal or state government departments.