News / Confusion over broadband speeds
TELECOM giant BT is calling on some of its Shetland customers to be patient and allow newly upgraded exchanges in the north of the isles to settle in before high speed broadband can be received.
The call comes after people in Yell and Fetlar complained that high broadband download speeds have not yet become available at Burravoe, Fetlar and Gutcher despite exchanges having been upgraded from 512Kb to 8Mb, in the first week of July.
The news comes as industry regulator Ofcom criticises the telecom industry for misleading customers on real broadband speeds.
Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has now called for the industry to come clean after the Ofcom report revealed that up to 97 per cent of internet users in some areas do not receive the services they are being sold.
Responding to complaints from its Shetland customers, a spokesman for BT said customers in the area should have received an e-mail and a letter explaining the procedure of accessing the new full platform ADSL broadband.
“It does take a few days for the broadband signal to stabilise. Anyone not with BT Retail will have to contact their own Internet Service Provider (ISP).
“Obviously distance from the exchange is still an issue even after the exchange has been upgraded – speeds of ‘up to’ 8Mbps are available but if someone lives a few kilometres from the exchange they might only get one or two Mbps.”
Locals said they can’t get any sense from BT and are regularly asked to switch to more expensive contracts in order to access the new service.
They are venting their frustration on an internet forum at: http://www.shetlink.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10128&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Shetland MSP Tavish Scott said on Monday that many constituents had already contacted him with the problem.
Meanwhile, isles MP Alistair Carmichael added that the speed of broadband in rural areas often declines as more people are signing up for the service.
“The fact that average broadband speeds in rural areas actually declined over the last year shows just how much work there is to do to if we are to close the digital divide between urban and more rural areas.
“Many people in Orkney and Shetland find it impossible to access the internet at all when at home – those that can should not have to deal with exaggerated claims from suppliers.
“Providers need to stop treating their customers with such disdain and come clean on the internet speeds they are able to deliver,” he said.
The exchange upgrades in Shetland are part of a programme, part funded by the Scottish government, to improve services at 29 exchanges across the Highlands and Islands.
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