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PSTN Shutdown
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The equipment needed to run your copper analogue line is end of life and parts to maintain it are no longer available, therefore the decision has been made to retire analogue services attached to the Devonport and Miramar exchanges. Your analogue line will no longer work after the 15th December 2020. We will work with you to move your services to Fibre, which will improve your internet speeds and reliability of your phone services.
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Absolutely, just call our sales team to start the process.
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If you have ADSL or VDSL broadband internet you will need to migrate this to Fibre. The good news is Fibre is faster and more reliable.
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ADSL or VDSL Naked broadband service is delivered over copper, which are also delivered through systems associated with these old switches. We’ll need to migrate you to Naked Fibre Broadband.
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Phone features provide you with access to 3 great add-ons that you can you use to customise your landline phone:
- Voice mail
This is your personal answering machine hosted from Orcons end, this provides callers with the option of leaving a voice message if they are not able to reach you. - Caller ID
Allows you to see who is calling. Their number is displayed on the phone screen before you pick up. You will need a Caller ID compatible handset with an LED/LCD Display. - Call Waiting
Allows you to switch between calls. You will hear "beep beep beep" during a call if someone else is trying to call you. Simply hit the recall button to answer the call.
- Voice mail
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All business broadband plans come with a landline, free local calling, and the following smart phone features
- Voice mail
This is your personal answering machine hosted from Orcons end, this provides callers with the option of leaving a voice message if they are not able to reach you. Dail 789 to hear your voice messages. - Caller ID
Allows you to see who is calling. Their number is displayed on the phone screen before you pick up. You will need a Caller ID compatible handset with an LED/LCD Display. - Call Waiting
Allows you to switch between calls. You will hear "beep beep beep" during a call if someone else is trying to call you. Simply hit the recall button to answer the call. - Call Forwarding
Allows you to have your call forwarded from your home line to a number of your choice, you can even choose when it will forward the number. see the manage features below
- Voice mail
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In the table below you will find the number to access/listen to your voicemail and also a code to dial to turn it on and off. pretty neat right?
Star Code Feature 789 Access Voicemail *77 Enable Voicemail *78 Disable Voicemail -
To set up call forwarding, you will need to contact us and advise what number you want to have your call forwarding set up to, simply contact us here. Once set up you can use the Star Codes in the table below to turn Call forwarding on/off
Star Code Feature *71 Call Forward Always Activation *72 Call Forward Always Deactivation *73 Call Forward on Busy Activation *74 Call Forward on Busy Deactivation *75 Call Forward No Answer Activation *76 Call Forward No Answer Deactivation -
Call privacy is a free feature available on all Homeline/mobile services we offer. Depending on what you are using, we have a code that you can input before making an outbound call that will hide your number. Check out this page for the full details.
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Yes, at this stage this is the only way to hide home-line numbers through Orcon.
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Unfortunately we do not have another option to offer you at the moment.
It is worth checking the manual/settings on your mobile device as it may have this capability built in! - Date and time of call:
- The number they called from (if possible):
- The number they called:
- Nature of call (what was said):
- Date and time of call:
- The number they called from (if possible):
- The number they called:
- Duration of call:
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If you're on Orcon Fibre, plug your handset into the port labelled POTS or TEL on your Optical Network Terminal - that's the fibre box usually found on your wall.
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If you're on Orcon Hyperfibre, plug your handset into the port labelled Phone 1 on your Orcon Hyperfibre router.
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If you're on Orcon copper broadband, you'll either need to plug your handset into the port labelled Phone 1 on your Orcon router, or in some cases, into a working phone jackpoint. If you're unsure, get in touch and we can guide you through it.
- Dial 09 550 0781, or 0064 9 550 0781 if you're overseas.
- Enter your mailbox number - this is your phone number and area code minus the first zero (e.g. 09 550 0000 becomes 95500000)
- Then enter your voicemail PIN (please note - if you have not set up a PIN from home you will not be able to access your voicemail from another phone)
- Follow the voice prompts.
- Dial 083210 (press * if that number also has Voicemail)
- Enter your mailbox number - this is your phone number and area code minus the first zero (e.g. 09 550 0000 becomes 95500000)
- Enter your PIN
- Follow the voice prompts
PSTN is the old phone network that is provided directly through your phone jack, due to how old it is (built in the 1980s), parts to maintain it are no longer being made and so Exchanges that still use this network are having the equipment turned off.
What is PSTN?
The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), is a network of switches that connects calls from one person to another over copper lines. It’s an old system that was built in the 1980s. The parts needed to keep these switches going aren’t being made any more, so it’s time for them to be retired.
When is this happening?
Not every exchange is being turned off at once. First up is the old PSTN equipment in the Devonport and Miramar exchanges will be turned off on the 15th December 2020. This means any customer with a copper analogue line off one of these exchanges will need to migrate to Fibre.
The good news is Fibre is available in these areas and it brings more reliability to both your internet and phone. We’ll be able to upgrade your internet connection and your phone line at the same time.
FAQ's
Orcons Phone features allow you to customise your homeline with additional add-ons. Learn how you can add and manage your phone features here.
Depending on if you are on a business or residential plan with us there are different features available.
What phone features are available for me?
Managing Calling Features
Below you will find how to manage your calling fatures and what the Star Codes you can use directly on your handset to use the calling features too.
At Orcon, we take customer privacy very seriously. Depending on what you are using, we have a code that you can input before making an outbound call that will hide your number. How great is that?
Hiding your landline number on outgoing calls
You can still hide your landline number for single calls, dial 0197 and then the outgoing number.
Hiding your mobile number on outgoing calls
For mobile, simply dial #31# before the number you want to call. Simple right?
FAQ's
We here at Orcon take such matters very seriously and recommend taking precautions if you receive such calls.
Scam Calls
New Zealand, like many other countries, is targeted by off-shore based phone scammers calling or texting national landline and mobile users. The scammers attempt to persuade anyone who answers their call, or receives their text, to cooperate in some way. Their objective is to extract funds from the recipient by deception or extortion and often involves obtaining remote access to victim's computer and stealing internet banking details or convincing the victim to make a payment to an offshore account.
What do I do if I receive such calls?
If you are contacted by someone you suspect is a scammer, we want to hear from you as soon as possible. That way we can work with the industry to try and block the scam and prevent it from impacting others. The best way to let us know is by sending our team an email through our contact form with the details listed below.
Nuisance Calls
We want to help you as much as possible to put an end to abusive, unwanted and malicious phone calls. With this process we will require your cooperation in obtaining relevant details related to the call and caller. These calls are understandably difficult to deal with and we wish to immediate concerns arising from such calls.
What do I do if I receive such calls?
If you are receiving such calls, the first step of action is to log all unwanted calls with the details listed below:
We recommend collecting 3-5 examples within a 48-72 hour period. Once you have collected this information, send our team an email by using our contact form. If the calls are of a threatening nature or you believe your health and safety is at risk, please contact the New Zealand Police immediately on 111.
How do I use Call Waiting?Call Waiting allows you to answer a second call if you are already on the phone and works on all touch-tone phones. When you are on a call you will hear a series of beeps telling you that someone else is trying to get through. If you want to take the second call you can either:
Hang up. Your current call will end and your phone will then ring with the second call.
Press the recall/flash button. Your current call will be put on hold and you will switch to the second call. Press the recall/flash button again to go back to the original call.
Checking your Orcon voicemail from another phone such as a mobile or from overseas is easy, just follow these instructions:
If you normally dial 083210 for voicemail, this number works from other phones too. If you're calling from overseas you'll need to dial 0064 83 083210.
For the complete guide to using Orcon Voicemail, check out these handy downloadable guides
Orcon Genius/Voip Phone (usually plugged into our modem)
Old School Telephone (plugged into the jack point in the wall)
If you're an Orcon customer using a traditional home phone line, the steps included in this guide will be able to help if you're experiencing problems with your home phone service.
Orcon Genius customers, try this guide here instead.
NO DIAL TONE
I’M SUFFERING FROM NOISE, STATIC OR MY PHONE RINGS ONCE ONLY
How do I set up and use my Orcon voicemail?To set up Orcon voicemail, dial 789 and follow the instructions.
Note: 789 won’t work for all customers (it depends what network you are on) . If 789 fails to let you access your voicemail, then dial 083210 and follow the instructions.