Angus Kidman28 May 2007, 6:51 AM
First it was Optus; now iiNet, which boasts more than 200,000 customers, is suffering from a software bug on its DSLAM equipment, making it difficult for some of its ADSL2+ users to get a connection.
 Ever feel like tearing a line card out of a DSLAM: iiNet has that feeling right about now |
First
it was Optus. Now, national broadband ISP iiNet, which boasts more than 200,000 customers, is suffering from a software bug on its DSLAM equipment, making it difficult for some of its ADSL2+ users to get a connection.
"Due to a bug in the software on the Ericsson DSLAMs we use, some customers may be unable to connect to the Internet using the PPPoE connection method," a terse posting on iiNet's support site reads.
While iiNet is consulting with Ericsson to try and solve the problem, it hasn't yet determined when the issue will be fixed.
iiNet's own support message suggests the problem has been occurring since at least Friday May 25, though it's not clear how many customers are affected. iiNet officials did not respond to a request for comment.
As a temporary fix, iiNet is advising users to switch to PPPoA as a connection method. Although this is a relatively simple change to make in a modem's web-based configuration interface, a search of iiNet's support database doesn't produce any documentation explaining how to make that change, which will no doubt lead to confusion for less tech-savvy customers.
Adding to iiNet's woes, its support call centre is also suffering from technical problems. Several callers have reported receiving an automated message telling them that technical difficulties mean their call cannot be answered, and to call back in 30 minutes time.
An iiNet representative posting on Whirlpool on Sunday evening said that the problem was due to faulty IVR software and was due to be fixed shortly, but as of Monday morning callers were still experiencing difficulties.
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