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A "third-world approach" to the installation of fibre could be partly why Dunedin residents do not feature among the heaviest internet users in New Zealand despite enjoying the highest speeds, Animation Research Ltd chief executive Ian Taylor says.

• Dunedin’s net speed not reflected in data use

Here is Mr Taylor's full letter to the editor on the topic, sent in response to story showing Dunedin is not among the top ten centres for highest data use by household, despite having the fastest internet by a huge margin.

It was with some interest that I read the article on Dunedin’s use of high-speed data, or lack thereof.

Perhaps one of the major factors for this could be the third-world approach that has been taken to the installation of fibre at homes around Dunedin. If the experiences of our staff, who know quite a lot about technology, is any measure, it is understandable that people are showing some reluctance to pick up on the gigabit data opportunity.

One staff member who had looked forward to getting gigabit data was told by the people who came out to install it that the only option for getting the service into her home was to attach the unsightly cable to the external wall of her living room, the wall that faced the street, and to drill a hole in the roof to lower the cable in.

She subsequently declined the service after insisting that the person, who seemed hell-bent on drilling holes in her house, should leave.

The other member of our team booked fibre to be installed and was mortified to find on his return home from work that the installers had simply "nailed" the fibre to the fence that ran up his driveway.

He provided another example of this shoddy approach when a neighbour arrived home to find installers had dug a trench in his sealed driveway, patched it up with cheap plaster that did not match, dug another across his lawn and through the flower garden, leaving an unsightly mess to deal with.

Perhaps these are isolated incidents, but it would be interesting to find out if any of your readers have had similar experiences.