Villagers have been told it would cost them £550,000 to be provided with a broadband internet connection.

British Telecom's estimate included installing the infrastructure necessary to provide the broadband link for 80 households in Erbistock, near Wrexham.

But the residents have since been given a £50,000 estimate by another firm, Rutland Telecom, and they hope to be online by October.

BT said it was actively investigating alternative solutions for the village.

It looks like BT was profiteering.

It's more likely that Rutland have quoted the installation at a large loss, hoping to recoup the costs via line rental over the next few years. I expect if you look at the contract it will be for a minimum term of several years.

We do the same thing, because the excess charges involved in laying miles of cable are usually too much to swallow in one go.

It's more likely that Rutland have quoted the installation at a large loss, hoping to recoup the costs via line rental over the next few years. I expect if you look at the contract it will be for a minimum term of several years.

b) BT were doing the old 'we can't be arsed to do this so quote them a ludicrous price and they'll go away' trick.

Me, I'm thinking b). And, as usual, BT end up with egg on it's face.

Jon

So what about the universal service obligation? No matter how you look at it, BT are plonkers.

1.10 BT and Kingston are required to provide a connection upon reasonable request and at uniform prices, irrespective of geographical location. This requirement is particularly valuable to customers in remote rural areas whom the market might otherwise not serve. Where installation of a new line costs £3400 or less, BT sets a standard charge. Where installation will cost over £3400, BT requires the customer to pay the excess costs (plus its standard connection charge)


The obligation on BT and Kingston to provide a connection upon reasonable request encompasses the provision of a narrowband connection capable of ‘functional internet access’ (FIA). Guidelines on FIA were issued in 2003 which said that users should be able to expect connection speeds of at least 28.8 kbit/s. It also set out measures that universal service providers should take in response to complaints about data speeds. The Guidelines have been beneficial and no significant changes are proposed at this time. In particular, it is considered that the benchmark minimum speed should remain at 28.8 kbit/s for the time being.

As previously stated there is no USO (Universal Service Obligation) with regard to broadband internet access. It's something the European Commission is looking into, but it will most likely be several years before any such proposal comes into force.

With a right wing government in power it will never happen.

It's more likely that Rutland have quoted the installation at a large loss, hoping to recoup the costs via line rental over the next few years. I expect if you look at the contract it will be for a minimum term of several years.

We do the same thing, because the excess charges involved in laying miles of cable are usually too much to swallow in one go.

BT drop £550,000 village broadband quote to £100