It’s super slow waiting for BT to install our fibre broadband

Earlier this year, we were informed by BT that, to continue receiving broadband, our copper wire connection would have to be replaced by fibre. A package was to be in place within a month. Five months on, we are still without broadband. In July, BT told us our service had ceased because we were not on full fibre! Our internet is operating via mini-hubs provided by BT (we are on our fourth) and customer service has ceased to update us. We are in our late 70s and rely on the internet for banking and ordering groceries.
EB, Presteigne, Powys

It is a heartwarming coincidence that BT got a technician to your property the day after I made contact. Unlike previous attempts, this visit got you online. BT claims “significant” external work was required that took longer than expected. You say successive technicians told you that the fibre cable had been wrongly connected and it was a five-minute job to swap it. For reasons unclear, they had declared themselves unauthorised, or unable, to do so. BT has apologised and paid compensation.

Londoner NT has been similarly failed. He moved his digital marketing agency to a new office and contracted BT to install fibre broadband. Seven months on the firm is still without the internet, while BT and the network provider Openreach blame each other. “BT has told us we can’t move to another ISP without incurring 50% of our entire contract,” he says. ‘This could end our business.”

Like EB, NT says calls to BT were not returned and appointments were not kept. Again, the problem was miraculously resolved when I contacted BT. Openreach says it was not at fault. BT blamed a circuit fault at your local exchange. It says: “We apologise for the difficulties the customer faced during what was a complicated technical issue to resolve.”

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