BT denies ‘sinister’ role in broadband delay

No dirty tricks in West Norfolk

By Tim Richardson • Get more from this author

Posted in Telecoms, 12th January 2004 10:38 GMT

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BT has denied that there was anything "sinister" behind its delay to wire up a rival community wireless broadband scheme.

The monster telco has already apologised to West Norfolk Community Broadband (WNCB) for delays in delivering their private circuits claiming that "capacity problems" on the network have held up installation possibly until May.

BT had promised to install the circuits - linking WNCB's wireless broadband network to the Net - by December 18. But due to a "misunderstanding", BT failed to hit its delivery time causing massive disruption and disappointment for WNCB.

Now though, it seems BT has managed to improve its delivery time with the promise that the WNCB service will gets its connection by January 20 - coincidentally, just one day before BT hooks up the local Dersingham exchange to ADSL.

In effect, BT's admitted delay means that any competitive advantage that WNCB's wireless broadband scheme might have had has now evaporated, with the wireless and ADSL services expected to be made available around the same time.

WNCB's Will Newman told The Register that the matter has already been escalated within communications regulator Ofcom, with officials there understood to be looking into the matter.

Said Mr Newman: "It seems that BT is only prepared to give us our circuits when they are in a position to compete."

A spokesman for BT denied the telco was involved in any dirty tricks insisting that there was "no sinister reason" behind what he described as "genuine delays". ®

BT faces fresh complaint over late BB delivery

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