http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/broadband/3 ... nd-excuses

Politicians being useful

Because they want BT to provide a better service so they can raise the Internet Tax they plan to bring in

because BT is a private company that has to maximise its return for shareholders. Rural areas are not a high area of return for investment so unless forced to they are not going to put the money in to get a better service.



I didnt know that that having a fast broadband speed is now a prime requisite to be able to do normal domestic activities. I have yet to notice that usb/rj45/wifi link on the hoover, washing machine and cooker.

A lot of people are opting to work from home. A reasonable broadband speed is all but essential for that.

Normal domestic activities does not encompass working from home.
Rural areas will basically have to lump it until it becomes economically worthwhile for a private company (BT or a n other) to supply the infrastructure or the government spends money.

I actually thought it was just cos they were personally angry, but that's a good point

There is a social dimension that BT are missing. I suspect the government “gets it” but is unable to force a private company to do anything about it.

If BT removed the phone lines from the areas suffering from poor broadband speeds, there would be a national outcry. Why? Because the telephone is now seen as a necessary tool for everyday living. It is essential - not just a product.

Broadband is going that way. The government wants us to use the YouGov site more (see the adverts)? It wants us to interact with them online more. The Digital Britain report recommended a base line speed. The village mentioned in that article is not getting that. The government, if it is serious about this, needs to put pressure on BT to provide the necessary speeds to the consumer as well as to businesses.

I think the real problem here is that time after time we hear of "Politicians' fury" but, just like Gilbert & Sullivan, it signifies nothing.

don't be silly

Simples, HMG tells BT to get their act together or Ofcom won't play "nicely" with BT's monopoly.

BT hops off to learned friends and gets a huge amount of taxpayers wonga.

just to give you lot a better idea of how bad the internet is there (in hilton)
i friend cant use youtube without having to wait 5mins for a vid to buffer first, they get pings of almost 50plus on most server (css/tf2 mainly)
my friends who live there who have more than 1 computer on the network (many people now have xbox and a computer + others) then if there on it at the same time it literally becomes usless to even bother gaming

i dont live in hilton but am very close and my exchange is terrible but i do get a steady 1mb connection. the problem with hilton is that the exchange is in etwall (about 2-3miles away), etwall has about 500 people living there and the 4th largest school in england.

its just terrible by bt to allow this, they could fix it by adding a new exchange for hilton for its own use but instead they help cities get better speeds and leave rural area's with crap networking.

Parliament amends UK law. Government wins.