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Ours is a medium sized apartment building completed in 2020. Our lift service provider [Name redacted] recently informed us that our lift emergency phone line isn’t working and recommended that before 3G ceases operation we should take up their offer of installing a GSM 4G system (about $2000) and also offered a SIM and ongoing monthly service contract for that phone service ($39 pm).
However we have been advised that we have a fixed line phone service provided by Telstra for this line. Telstra technicians have visited and have confirmed that the line is working from their point of view.
[The lift service provider] continue to maintain that we should buy their recommended system. Telstra continue to advise that there is nothing wrong with the Telstra line.
It is true that there is no connection from the lift phone to [Name redacted] (I tested it myself this morning). But now [Name redacted] are demanding that we go with their service or they will disable the lift as it is unsafe to operate without an emergency phone. This is despite the fact that it still has the emergency alarm bell and most people carry a mobile phone with them to call the displayed number if required.
Our strata manager doesn’t know what to do, and neither do we.
- This topic was modified 6 months ago by .
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If you can find a way of making sure the lift phone is connected to the lift service provider’s emergency number, you may be OK. Otherwise, what does someone who is trapped in the lift at 2am who doesn’t have a working mobile do? It sounds like another embedded network rort but there may be no alternative.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
Hi,
Electrical Engineer here (who designs and specifies) buildings, including NBN and lifts etc.
Its correct that the 3G network is being decommissioned.
If the building was completed in 2020, you will have “fixed lift line” provided by Telstra, but it will be though the fibre NBN equipment. You wont have a physical copper line. The issue with this is if you lose power to the building, you will also lose all telephony services in the building, including the lift emergency phone line. NB: NBN stopped providing battery backup kit with NBN years ago. One as a cost cutting exercise for the NBN rollout. But also in practice the batteries rarely get maintained and are require constant replacement every 3-5 years anyway. The industry has moved to GSM diallers for lifts since 2018.
It is strange that your dialer isn’t 4G compatible. But you can put this down to the original installer going cheapest and putting in a 3G only which would have still been plenty kicking around in 2020. The current contractor may also be looking for an excuse for “extras”. NB: If the dialler is 3G/4G compatible, the you will only have to change to a 4G sim card.
The costs @$2k is around the market rate for replacement. A quick google I have found one company in Sydney that will do for $1750.
You do need to have an emergency phone, but threatening to shut down lifts straight off the bat comes off as a strong arming tactic to me.
If it were my building, I would be looking at the very least getting a second opinion from another lift maintenance company, with a view to changing maintenance contractor long term. Contractors in our building don’t last long if they start threatening the EC with “required upgrades” instead of working with us.
You have until August 31 to change to 4G.
Hope that helps.
@lovetheview Here’s a suggestion: get a suitably qualified telecommunications technician (which includes most electricians) to check the connection on-site. You’re likely to have a main telco box somewhere where the incoming lines terminate. There will then be one or more cables going to a termination box somewhere near the lift. In this box there should be a connection between the line and the physical phone in the lift. It’s likely this is the link that’s missing.
A tech will be able to, at a minimum, confirm where the line gets to and where it stops. They may be able to reinstate the connection.
If it can’t be reinstated, I would get a written report from the tech and forward it to the lift company with a very specific order to complete the connection, noting that if they fail to do so they will be in breach of their contract with you to maintain the lift and, no doubt, in breach of legal requirements. Maybe get a lawyer to draft it for you.
Good luck!
This seems the perfect opportunity for the SC to shop around for an alternative lift maintenance company. The threat does seem overblown, and would be a credible excuse for breaking your existing contract. Get two or three more quotes for your lift maintenance, with the emergency phone upgrade included, and then ask your existing provider to match the best offer, or switch to a new provider, who will no-doubt help with the transition. (Our building recently changed across to Hamilton Lifts, who gave us a good deal and have given good service, so they might be included as one of the companies you might want to talk to.)
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