BT confirms ADSL availability dates

It's definitely this year

By Tim Richardson, 26th July 2000

Regcast training : Hyper-V 3.0, VM high availability and disaster recovery

BT has admitted it still hasn't got to grips with its broadband ADSL product.

In an open letter from Marc Deschamps, COO of Broadband at BTopenworld, the executive admits "we're nearly there with the single computer service, but not quite".

Which is nice... nice of BT to admit that despite years of testing and development it still can't make the over-hyped technology work.

Deschamps even gives some hard(ish) and fast(ish) dates for when the products will be rolled out.

The multi computer (Ethernet) service (aimed primarily at SMEs) "should be up and running by September or October", although the very first Ethernet customers should be hooked up this week.

The single computer (USB) service "should be online by October or November", according to Deschamps, which isn't quite the same at the "late summer" timing touted by BT spinsters.

Both of these products and dates only apply to those 100,000 or so people who pre-registered their interested before 30 June.

But if you think this is bold coming from BT, think again. Deschamps opens his epistle with the promise: "We never release a service until it has been thoroughly tested. Which is not to say that the underlying technology hasn't been proved. Quite the opposite. It works like a dream..."

That's some claim. He must really confident about BT's technological know-how.

Shame he didn't read his company's own blurb about online gaming which boasts how BTopenworld deals a "fatal blow to the two mortal enemies of online gaming... lag and latency".

Unfortunately for Deschamps, the small print reads: "Please note that gaming will only be available on the BTopenworld single computer service to start with. Compatibility with the multi-computer service is under development."

What was that you were saying, Marc? ®