Are ISP's being bullied?

[InFinRetirement]

Have to be dead careful with this, but I was shocked to hear the London MD of Alta Vista say today that they were not able, nor have they ever been able, to open the FREE internet service they planned. The reason? They could not get the co-operation they expected.

They apparently had to complain to Oftel as well, and have dropped the scheme. Bad news!

Now! Right here right now, I have an ISP, which should have gone live 4 weeks ago, but their cables were severed!!!! It was then expected that they would go live on Monday evening, after four days of testing. Now it won't be until tomorrow evening. The reason being that mischievious hands appear to have been have been at work - including taking an excessively long time to complete the job.

These two are not the only examples. But the FACT is that lines must be released to whoever wants to setup and ISP. But........

Is this a case of bullying I wonder?

[FL310]

and...check your speed....all in a sudden, with a free iSP on a 24/7 account, my access speed dropped to 28.800, max 31000.
Complaint to BT showed now a shared line with someone else and BT statement is: "You may have to go the Highway way, we never guarantee good data lines on normal phone lines, only good phone quality".
This says it all.

[Flying Banana]

Don't think BT are deliberately sabotaging other ISP's. They can't even provide a decent service to their own subscribers. I ditched them two months ago after their 'service' dropped to levels where it was quicker to send a letter than an email and their web access is a joke. Unfortunately the telecom system in this country is so outdated it will in its current form never provide the level of internet access our transatlantic cousins enjoy. Probably due to the fact it is run by one huge ex nationalised company whose only concern is dividends for shareholders, profits and obscene salaries for the board.

Rant over....

On a positive note I joined ezesurf's surfsaver two months ago and apart from it not being easy to sign up have been very pleased. Web access is fast and reliable, download speeds are nearly four times what I was getting from BTInternet and its 24/7 freecall access.

Happy Surfing :)

[spannersatcx]

I'm afraid BT are sabotaging other ISP's that don't have their own cable network. Altavista could not make a viable go at the free stuff as BT WANTED TOO MUCH to use their lines.

[FireDragon]

I use the Quip & Lineone system - you initially pay £20 for their adaptor, & plug into your 'phone system. This enables you to make telephone calls at 60% cheaper than the likes of BT. The minimum direct debit is £5 per month. For this, you have unlimited 24 hours free internet access. Nice - it's been great, but UNFORTUNATELY - the company are now withdrawing the offer - the response was TOO great (in other words, they can't afford it). Those of us already on line with Lineone on the free 24 hour service will be cut off on 30 September 2000. This is a b***** ! Ah well - will have to find another good ISP

[InFinRetirement]

Try IG Click. I was unhappy with the service to start with but it has now settled down. £50 one off payment - plus £30 per annum. You get 24/7 and they just updated their bandwidth to 155mb - very fast. Love4 it! Just hope THEY keep going. They say they will!!

[FireDragon]

Thanks InfinRetirement - will give it a go

[Flying Banana]

Cheers Infin... just lost ezesurf, signed up with IG Click tonite, wow got thru to support on first try, that's a good sign.

Back to the thread, just seen this on www.ispreview.co.uk: (http://www.ispreview.co.uk:)

Oftel Slaps BT over leased lines

" - By:mark.j @ 4:50:PM GMT - August 29,2000 - Here we go again, this time Oftel have decided to slap BT over leased lines according to The Register. So in other words we'll have to wait another year before anything actually gets done, wonderful, just get freecall:

BT is anti-competitive and has been abusing its monopoly position, according to the winged watchdog Oftel.

A review of the leased lines market found that "competition was not effective in the retail market resulting in prices higher than they would be in a competitive market."

One of the proposals on the table is to force BT to offer leased lines at competitive wholesale rates so other telcos can get in on the act.

David Edmonds, DG of Oftel, said today: "Greater competition in the leased lines market will mean a better deal for UK consumers."

However, to get to that point Oftel will have to go through a long-winded, drawn-out, tortuous, laboured, tedious, time wasting, slow, unhurried, bureaucratic consultation process before finally...finally laying down the law.

We all know BT is anti-competitive and we've heard this all before, even a child of 10 could cite the reasons. So why do we have to wait for Oftel to takes ages before actually doing anything, don't just say it, do it! Ah well that’s the life of a regulator that tries its best but ends up making things worse (FRIACO Hybrid). - "

[whisperer]

BT greedy, well not sure about that, they are feeling the pinch in some places, cable must have hit them hard. at the end of the day, they are a buisness, if anyone wants to use their service (lines) they have to pay the price. AOL et al seem to think that they should get some special deal, on their own terms. Try going to rent a car, and only wanting to pay half the advertised price, see how you get on.
Sure BT are a bit pricy, compared to things in the USA, but the surftime deals are good value in my opinion.

[InFinRetirement]

Surely not Whisperer. Not when for a third of what BT charge you can have 24/7 - faster than they are, and more reliable than they are. And, btw, BT should have reduced their Surftime to £5.99 but chose to 'cheat' by adding midnight to 8am for £4.00 and not allowing the £5.99 ONLY. Crafty way of keeping the £9.99 charge eh!

BT have blown it as far as I am concerned and I have canceled them.

[DreamCatcher]

Breathemail were doing a £50 one-off and guaranteeing 24/7 for life. I don't know if they're still doing it, but initially they were heavily subscribed. Couple that with Skytalk at 40% less than BT line rates, free calls via mobile after 7pm, and my monthly BT bill has dropped to around £2! Now on low user tariff!

Hunt around - it's worth it.

Cheers

[matelot]

Concur !!