BT's broadband revelation: Best of Reader Comments II

There's no doubting what the biggest news for the high-tech community was this week - BT's wholesales broadband price cuts (http://www.silicon.com/a51584 ).

As the dust starts to settle and the shock wears off reader comments are still pouring in - so much so that we are bringing you a second Best of Reader Comments on this one subject.

From the comments we are getting today it seems BT has still done little to appease the man on the street (or country lane). After all, if there's one thing worse than not being able to get expensive broadband access, it not being able to get cheap broadband access...

Doomed to never get broadband:
By Ian Ferris
"It has been a long time since I registered my interest in Broadband. Then came the silence. Since then I have spoken to BT broadband department who are very skilled in the art of question avoidance and garden path leading. I get the feeling they are fully aware that I am not going to get Broadband anytime this decade but they just don't have the heart to tell me. I live on the East Coast of Scotland, in a fairly well populated area and 1.5 km from the exchange for what good it does. I could live in a flat above the exchange but I still am not going to get Broadband."

Thanks for nothing BT:
"Before we moved our offices we asked BT whether we could have ADSL in the new location and were answered yes! We moved, ordered ADSL and sat back to wait for the installation. Our new office is in the sticks but within 3 miles of an exchange that has ADSL installed and we had already passed the first two tests! Excellent...we thought. When it came to the installation, we were then turned down with no valid excuse as to why and no indication as to when we might be able to recieve it. We now have a maximum modem link for Internet and email of just 26k (if we're lucky). Thanks BT...for nothing!"

Dorset adrift from high-speed web
By Anthony Lawler
"Availability is the main issue. I've got problems in places such as Poole and Dorchester. Are these out of the way?"

Wales still missing out:
By James Michell
"We can't get ADSL here - in the heart of the South Wales industrial belt. We can't even get a 56kb analogue connection because of line sharing - BT say they haven't got enough lines available. We probably can't even get ISDN - BT can't tell us at the moment - and if we could, its lousy value compared to ADSL. How about either a significant price cut for ISDN or a significant increase in the rollout of ADSL exchanges?"

Essex still a broadband backwater
By Steve Evans
"I'm based within earshot of the M25 and A12, so hardly in the middle of nowhere, but ADSL cannot reach me. To be honest, the original price didn't bother me and I'm fed up with people saying it's too much... At least you can get it if you want it!"

Britain a broadband barren land
By Lee Paxton
"We have had internet access for the last 10 or so years as a viable means of sharing information. With the growth of shared information and its uses, comes the increased need for sending more and more at a time. DSL came along and BT said to begin with that most homes in the UK would be connected within two years. Hasn't happened.

"With no other options left open to us, it looks like we are doomed to suffer a low speed high cost solution, as rural areas have absolutely no alternative to DSL. Cable companies won't touch rural areas, as it would obviously cost them a fortune to even think about wiring us up. This has been going on far too long, we need some answers from BT about what they are going to do about it, and the sooner the better.

"Unless BT realises that everyone should be entitled to the same level of service and gives up the local loop for other companies to spend the cash on upgrading them, we will remain a third world country as far as internet access is concerned.

"We need to raise the profile of Britain back to being a world leader in technology, communications and professionals."

So there you have it - the pick of the bunch from our most recent comments about the state of Broadband Britain. Don't stop now though, we want to hear from even more of you.

Let us know what things are like where you are. Can you get broadband internet access? What do you make of BT's latest cuts - is it too little too late, or does the much-maligned telco deserve a pat on the back? Register a reader comment below and have your say.