[Link: news.bbc.co.uk]

The cost certainly seems way out there, but that's not the real problem: it's that they actually sent her that letter with a straight face, and continue to talk about it like it's an everyday thing for them, or that individuals have actually paid them something like that before.

Just makes you appreciate living in North America even more.

I feel taken advantage of @ $65 a month for cable with free installation.

I may have previously mentioned about a tale about a colleague who, a few years ago, contacted Telewest (later NTL:Telewest and now Virgin Media) to enquire about cable reaching the shores of rural Hereford/Herefordshire. They just laughed and put the phone down.

It seems to me that we get the worst of all worlds, not small enough to provide a "local" solution, but not "big" enough to be anything other than a low simmer, back burner project to the likes of BT or Virgin.

Perhaps I'm being a little churlish. Recently some phone line hieroglyphs have appeared on the paths outside; is it possible that BT are looking to install a fibre optic line; am I truly going to get my 2Mbps? But even here it rankles that whilst some are going to experience the benefits of super fast broadband 100Mbps +, I'm being expected to cough up a surcharge to experience a speed that is 400% worse than some are already getting.


My latest speed test, which is fairly typical.

Without knowing the situation it is hard to know if it is outrageous or not. Don't get me wrong, that is a lot of money. But a few years ago there was a guy that decided to develop an undeveloped side of a lake, My BIL bought one of the plots (7 or 8 of them) and some friends the rest. When they called Bell to see for phone they where told many thousands of dollars to bring the lines from the village/ road near by. So they all decided to wait until they all had cottages before installing them. Now, they all have phone lines but it cost each one of them a bit of cash.

I think that is everywhere, just that most of us don't have to deal with it because the infrastructure is there and our neighbours are near by. So when the telco upgrades because thousands of people will defray the cost, it is not the same as in some more lost places where you need to bring it for that one person. 1km of wire is 1km of wire no matter how many people it services.

The infrastructure was there in the flat (apartment) the wife and I bought. All that was required was a socket in the hallway and connecting in the junction box; all of about half an hour's work. It still cost us the standard £120 connection fee.

Heck, around here there's a forced installation charge even if all they have to do is plug the modem into the already functional socket (and they won't let you do it youself).

Now there's a surprise (he says, with a heavy hint of sarcasm) . . .

[Link: bbc.co.uk]