Telecom denies the allegation and says the delay is due to high workload levels in Dunedin.
West Australian freelance commercial writer Mark Schneider arrived in Dunedin in November to set up a copy-writing business.
"To establish yourself in a new market, you really have to hit the phones.
"Without a phone . . ."
Mr Schneider said he ran the business from his Corstorphine house and had been trying to get a phone line connected to the house since mid-January.
"Telecom put the landline on in a reasonably timely manner.
"I then transferred to Slingshot because they had good deals."
However, he cancelled his contract with Slingshot and went to Orcon.
Two weeks later, he is still waiting for a phone line.
"I think Telecom is deliberately delaying connections for independent providers like Slingshot and Orcon just so that people like me give up and go back to Telecom," Mr Schneider said.
In the absence of landlines, Mr Schneider has been relying on his mobile phone - on the XT network.
Slingshot did not respond to requests for information.
Orcon chief executive officer Scott Bartlett said transferring phone and broadband from one provider to another usually took less than a week.
Mr Schneider had previously moved his phone number to Slingshot to make use of a phone service via the internet.
"This means that in order to sign him up to our network [Orcon], we need to apply to have the number ported [moved] again, back to the Telecom wholesale network," Mr Schneider said.
"In order to complete the number port, a technician from Telecom must visit the local telephone exchange that the customer is connected to.
"In this . . . instance, we were advised the two-week delay was the soonest the technician could visit . . ."
A Telecom spokeswoman apologised for Mr Schneider's "bad experience".
"The request came through to us on February 18, 2010, and we advised the service provider that the earliest available appointment was March 1, 2010.
"This is due to the high workload levels in the area at the moment."
