SuffolkOnline.net

BT have issued a statement in response to the letter sent to Ed Vaizey by some of the mainstream UK ISP's. This letter is detailed in our earlier piece here.

"It is very disappointing that this letter was shared with the media several hours before ourselves. It's a shame that some of the companies involved seem keener to spend more time talking about this process than actually working on it.

The fact is our proposed prices for duct access compare very well with European averages whilst our plans for pole access have been held up due to others delaying our trials. Once those trials are underway we will be in a far better position to understand the costs involved and so we would encourage these companies to start trialling with us as soon as possible.

BT already provides numerous ways in which third parties can access our network and we have committed ourselves to providing yet more forms of access. It is highly ironic that we are being criticised by some companies who provide little or no wholesale access to their assets.

Finally, BT is the only company who has installed broadband equipment in exchanges serving the last ten per cent of the UK and so we would question whether these companies are genuinely interested in serving rural Britain given their track record."