Cable and Wireless has fired off letters to Bulldog broadband customers telling them they will be cut off in less than a month because it doesn't want them dangling around anymore.

Most of Bulldog's customer base was sold to Pipex last year for £12m. C&W refused to tell us why some subscribers remained on its network, saying it was tip-top secret, hush hush, and that if they told us...you get the picture.

It wouldn't tell us how many of these festering boils it would be lancing either, confining its response to a cryptic "not many". The cleansing marks the completion of C&W's pullout from consumer provision, which it announced last year as part of its company-wide cutback and restructuring plan.

The statement C&W sent us suggests Pipex is best off without some of them anyway, since they don't pay. It said: "As you would expect, like any business, if customers don’t pay for services, we don't provide them.

"In line with normal business procedure, we're in the process of terminating the service of a number of residential broadband customers who have either not paid the balance on their account within our thirty-day payment terms.

"Unless we receive payment of the arrears, we’ll proceed to disconnect customers’ services accordingly."

Some of the other accounts being cut off were freebies.

In the letter, which it sent to the not many customers on Wednesday, C&W advised them to get off its LLU network and go back to BT where they might be wanted. Migration Authorization Codes are available for the broadband-only lines, but to bundled phone and broadband outcasts.

Bulldog punters supplied through Pipex are unaffected by the move.®

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