BROADBAND WIGHT PRESS RELEASE
We have given BT sight of the below and opportunity to respond which they
have as
follows;
"Thank you for your e-mail. With regard to the draft press statement should
the same be released, BT will comment as appropriate. "
Paul Randle-Jolliffe
CEO Broadband Wight Ltd
0870 2645044
BROADBAND WIGHT PRESS RELEASE 1
24/07/2003
BT "Account Manager" LIE "NEARLY" KILLS
INDEPENDENT ISLE OF WIGHT BROADBAND COMPANY
An Island firm, involved in a dynamic project to broadband enable the entire
Island, was almost crippled by a representative telecoms giant, BT.
Broadband Wight Ltd (BBW), formed over a year ago, was brought to a
standstill just weeks before launching when it was discovered that its BT
Wholesale account manager had deliberately misled the company with crucial
foundational information.
Five months now after ordering a BT mainland to IoW fiber link and believing
it to be partially installed, BBW was told earlier by BT bosses that it had
not even been requested by the BT account manager. The move left
approximately 20 local developers and investors, plus many waiting
customers, in the lurch after one year of research and one year of planning
and resulting loss of business.
BBW was formed to deliver broadband and low cost leased lines to the Island
and is part of a new breed of locally based ISP's being setup across the UK.
BT, which expands its broadband service on the Island this month (July), has
refused to accept any direct responsibility to BBW for their account manager
's actions beyond "disciplining" and has refused to compensate the local
firm despite setting the company's launch back by months. Also,
investigations by BBW have revealed that the cost figures were misleading
and that the connect and service costs were in fact almost double what was
originally budgeted based on BT figures
Project manager Paul Randle-Jolliffe said recently, "If the order was
properly processed the real costs would have been revealed months ago, we
could have been planned for that, rather than only knowing after the
expected install date re-scheduling as we are having to do now. We think
that BT should compensate us but they have gracefully declined any
compensation. It's effectively a 'Sorry nipper, not our problem' situation
and we have now planned accordingly, it appears to have been a one person
wrecking job rather that BT as an organisation, but that does not change the
fact that places like Newport, E& W Cowes, Wootton and Godshill should have
had our service already, we have lost business and BT have some
responsibility for that, we planned well to be 1st to market not second to
BT."
The local broadband company has decided to give the telecoms giant a run for
their money and is re-orientating to compete directly with them by providing
a truly local network where subscribers can interact with their ISP on a one
to one basis at a cheaper rate.
The mainland to Island wide link will now be established on a high capacity
radio system via Industry leader in SDH radio technology Ceragon Networks.
"Our liason with Ceragon makes this cheaper to connect all the main areas of
the whole Island than BT would charge for just connecting us to the
mainland, our overheads will now be much lower on a bigger network and our
use of technology from leading DSL manufacturer Paradyne means we can beat
BT at their own game by cutting village link and leased line costs, it makes
for a very cost effective solution. In addition we will be using a 54Mbs
Wireless to provide access to broadband and our own IslandNet, our trials
show this works well and we have clients ordering this for their private
networks. There are advantages to the system which seriously out perform
ADSL including the ability to be mobile. We are not dead, we were just very
shocked for a while and disappointed at the delay, not least because some of
the team gave up better paying jobs to create something new and exciting."
It is estimated that BBW's broadband prices will be approximately 30%
cheaper while its leased lines services will be initially 30-55% below BT's.
"As BT have by default stolen a march on us, by being able to launch in
Newport before we do," said Randle Jolliffe. "Economics dictate that we roll
out services faster across the rest of the IoW which requires the raising of
more funding than we had initially planned. Our present funding by Island
people and businesses is currently not sufficient for this. Though we would
prefer 100 percent IoW investment as we would rather profits stayed here,
unless other local private investors step forward we will proceed with
funding from the mainland. In the mean time we are providing some well known
Island organisations with local site to site connections and will continue
to offer this. We are also happy to recommend ISPs that offer short (one
month) ADSL contracts so that when our "Internet Bridge" is live people will
be able to make a real choice."
The expanded project requires £0.5million to put in an extensive Island
network and local POPs including the main towns and villages with up to
another £1m as more network capacity is needed later.
Using the latest technology wireless broadband trials were started recently
in the St John's area of Ryde with triallers paying a discounted trail price
of £12 per month. A similar limited trial will be launched in Newport in
August. Along side these BBW as a DTI licensed operator is expanding its
local business leased line & wireless network services with which it
competes directly with and under cuts BT.
As an Islander Randle Jolliffe believes "There is more than enough expertise
and resources on the Island for us to be able to do things well for
ourselves in a way that suits us, if we want to, rather than just taking
what we are given or is introduced from the mainland as the only option. BBW
isn't just about the internet its about the empowering people and
communities to able to network with each other easily, that's happened on a
global basis but the next step is to do that locally as well, big
corporations can't do that for us."
Broadband Wight takes a friendly Island approach and welcomes being
contacted by those who are interested in partnering or buying into the
network or want to work with them as well as enquiries from those who would
like to find out more.
Broadband Wight can be contacted by email on
(E-Mail Removed)
Via their Website
www.broadbandwight.com
Or by telephone on 0870 2645 044
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