BT's ADSL excuse - industry wants the truth

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
ISPs and experts have expressed bafflement at BT's (quote: BT) latest excuse for failing to deliver ADSL, claiming there are hordes of people wanting to get their hands on the high speed technology. The reaction follows the fourth delay from BT, which blames a lack of triallists for its failure to deliver ADSL this coming Friday. This latest delay will push the rollout back until August or September according to BT. But while the telco claims a lack of interest has prevented it "flood testing" the system, ISPs claim they have queues of people waiting for the service. "People are falling over themselves to become triallists," according to an AOL spokesman. "We are not aware of any shortage. Where we have the capacity we have filled it." Adam Daum, analyst with research firm Gartner Group is finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with BT's excuses. "It is impossible to know who is telling the truth. Saying there are not enough triallists when the ISPs claim they are queuing up is beginning to sound like deliberate obfuscation," he says. ISPs are becoming increasingly frustrated by the delays. "We have been here before. Every single ISP is beholden to BT and the custodian of the infrastructure is moving on BT time not consumer time," says the AOL spokesman. "It is a difficult process but there is an extent to which it is reasonable to delay it. Consumers will not be blaming BT, they just want to know when they can get ADSL on AOL and it is frustrating for us because we want to give it to them." Demon is taking more direct action: it has lodged a formal complaint with Oftel. The ISP -- headed by telco Thus -- claims BT is abusing its dominant position in respect to ADSL, prejudicing Demon's chances of achieving a simultaneous launch of high speed services. It also alleges that BT may be showing undue preference to its own service provider, BT OpenWorld. Oftel is considering the complaint. BT hit back at its critics, claiming it treats all ISPs the same. "We treat all our ISPs in exactly the same way, irrespective of size," says a BT spokesman. "There is nothing stopping another network operator from building out an ADSL network but we believe we are doing it fairly." There have been suggestions that the real reason for the delay is due to interference on the lines but BT denies this. "I have no idea where that comes from," says a spokesman. "We just need more people to use ADSL services at one time so we can test that order handling and everything is running smoothly." Go to Rupert Goodwins Broadband technology roundup at AnchorDesk UK. What do you think? Tell the Mailroom. And read what others have said. Take me to the ADSL Special

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

1 hour ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

11 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

19 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

20 hours ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

21 hours ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

23 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

1 day ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material