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Copper wires for landline telephones in up to 2700 homes and businesses in Ngunnawal and Amaroo will be disconnected from Thursday as the NBN rollout continues in Canberra's north. NBN Co spokesman Darren Rudd said those affected would join more than 13,000 families and businesses now connected in Gungahlin, with work under way to connect another 14,000 homes and businesses in Civic and Queanbeyan. Mr Rudd said the switch was not automatic and residents and businesses needed to move their landline and internet services if they wished to continue using them. "They have a choice whether to switch to the NBN or to make do with mobile solutions," he said. The disconnection of the copper network in Ngunnawal and Amaroo comes after two years of delays and recent installations across Canberra's north which have frustrated community leaders and residents. iiNet NBN product manager Rachel McIntyre said residents who had already placed an order with an NBN provider would not have their landlines disconnected until their new service was installed. "If they haven't already migrated to an NBN service they need to realise it's not only going to affect their broadband service but their landline phone service," she said. According to a national study conducted by iiNet, 60 per cent of Australians thought their landline services would remain connected if they decided not to switch to the NBN and a further 32 per cent thought the switch was automatic. Gungahlin Community Council president Ewan Brown said many residents in Canberra's north were not aware of developments earlier this year, although NBN Co had improved communication in recent months. "On previous occasions I was concerned that people weren't being told they could have a voice only package without a data package and NBN have taken that on board," he said. "It was a problem of trying to get too much done too quickly and not realising the logistical implications." Australian Communications Consumer Action Network spokeswoman Teresa Corbin said NBN Co had done a good job communicating with residents, although some people struggled to understand how the changes affected them. "We're particularly concerned about phone only customers who are often very confused as the NBN is so often discussed as something to do with the internet, rather than an update of the whole communication system," she said. Ms Corbin said residents needed to be aware of the installation but shouldn't feel pressured into making decisions on the spot and that workers could be asked to come back at another time. Those with questions regarding the switch have been encouraged to contact service providers like NBN Co or iiNet, while online maps of the rollout can be found on the NBN website. Correction: An earlier version of this story said that the suburb of Crace would be disconnected from the copper network. This mistake was originally from an iiNet media release; only the suburbs of Ngunnawal and Amaroo are affected.

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