Just got off the phone again with Telstra, they say that there is no way to opt out of the battery backup if you are changing from NGC (Next Generation Calling) through the T-Gateway/Gateway Max to the UNI-V ports on the NTD.
This is insane. All that literally needs to happen on NBNCo's end is they activate the UNI-V port and the service will work, Telstra just need to tell them to do this.
Like I said, I am happy to pay the fee to switch - but I don't want the battery backup. Telstra suggested that I need the battery backup in case the power fails, in which case the UNI-V port won't work. Well, if the power fails with my current setup, I lose my landline anyway? Where's the logic in that?
Surely there must be a way to do this...