Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications
 
News

An open letter to BT (30 March 1999)

We sent the original letter on 30 March, and received a response on 15 April.


Dear Sir Peter,

Over the past nine months, as the Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications has developed, we know that Internet users in this country are crying out for fast Internet access fairly charged for at a flat rate.

And we've experienced for ourselves the technology which will, in part, deliver such access: ADSL. It's phenomenal. Downloading Netscape Communicator in a couple of minutes, and that on a 'bad day', cannot be described any other way.

Yet, from BT, all we have is an ADSL trial in parts of London, originally due to end in March and now ending in July, and an uncertain future thereafter.

Never mind the USA or Canada: now Spain and Germany have announced they're rolling out ADSL this year. Moreover, they clearly state the extent of what they're doing and how much they expect to charge users for it, unlike you. Telefónica SA and Deutsche Telekom AG have both been privatised for a short time: they will soon be ahead of where you are after over a decade of privatisation.

So yet more countries will be gaining a competitive advantage over the United Kingdom unless something is done urgently.

Yet little appears to be being done: we, and our mailing list, have been wondering out loud why.

Perhaps BT is holding back on broadband services because existing services paid for by the minute, such as telephone modems, ISDN and Home Highway, are there to be milked for as long as possible?

Although we have plenty of devil's advocates around, we can't think of a more plausible explanation. Incompetence? Possibly in planning, but certainly not in technology: BT has an all-digital network, which is an extraordinary technical achievement. Skills shortages? We know you are setting up a BT University to train people in your own image, but an advanced network must already have many competent people in place to run it.

No, we suggest that deliberate stalling is the reason.

We demand a full explanation from you of where you are and where you're going with broadband services, and we don't want 'no comment', 'akin to a free lunch' or 'you don't get something for nothing'. We will meet you at our convenience - we are busy people - to discuss this matter, which is bigger than BT. It affects everyone in this country.

Finally, we note that a number of people who visited the Windows 99 show were told, by your salespeople, that Home Highway was 'quality'. Try telling that to the Germans or the Spaniards. Or the Americans or the Canadians.

Yours sincerely,

The Campaign for Unmetered Telecommunications


The UK has one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in the world, as a result of £30bn BT investment over the past 15 years. Broadband services are of critical significance for the UK as they are the enablers of the 'knowledge driven economy', and will increasingly have a huge impact on the economic well-being of the UK as a whole.

BT is committed to the information age. Our vision for the future is to provide broadband switched connections which support a range of services and applications. In the shorter term, we plan to provide Midband services both to meet and stimulate demand.

We are currently running a commercial Midband trial, based on ADSL technology. This trial is testing the operational systems, procedures and support frameworks that need to be in place when commercial services are launched.

Originally the trial end date was the 31st of March 1999. We have extended this to enable us to fine tune some of the systems and procedures. This means that any eventual commercial service will better meet customer requirements.

The trial is due to end in a couple of months time, following which any commercial decisions will be finalised and announced.

To conclude, our investment to date demonstrates our commitment to broadband access technologies. The length of time that it is taking is indicative of our commitment to getting it right.

Regards,
Rebecca Webster
Marketing Manager
Midband Programme

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