DSL rollout stalls as BT drags its feet

The UK's cheap broadband revolution is failing to take off, with only 35,000 digital subscriber line (DSL) connections completed so far, according to BT.

The telco has upgraded less than 12 per cent of its exchanges - 619 out of a total of 6000 - and claims that only 839 will be ready by the end of March.

Andy Green, chief executive of BT's internet access retail arm BT Openworld, said that the low take up is caused by the lack of local exchanges that BT has been able to adapt to offer DSL services.

Many rival telcos who were interested in using BT's local exchanges to sell DSL services to businesses and consumers have pulled out of the process, blaming excessive red tape, high costs and alleged intransigence on the part of the telecoms giant.

"It's only the well-funded telcos which can roll out broadband in the UK, and the biggest, BT, is dragging its feet," said James McCafferty, head of European telecoms research at SG Securities.

The development of broadband network services in the UK rests on BT, cable companies NTL and Telewest, and a handful of rival telcos that are gaining access to the few unbundled exchanges currently in operation. The result is a patchwork service with many towns and cities becoming broadband black spots.

The uptake of broadband fixed wireless access in the UK has also been poor, and cable rollout has suffered.

"Only 16 out of the 42 [broadband fixed wireless] licences have been sold and Telewest has suffered from supply problems with its hardware suppliers," said Donald Tait, a research analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

First published in Computing