Jerry wrote:

How are Kingston Communications still able to hold a monopoly in Hull?

AOL offer genuine 080[0|8] access with no cut offs. I've been very pleased
with their service in the past.

--
Now Playing: Aqualung - Brighter Than Sunshine [192kbps mp3]

Gareth Babb wrote:
I thought BT had a mandate to supply anyone who wanted one with a PSTN line.
Have I been misinformed or not been told the full story?

--
Now Playing: Oasis - All Around The World [192kbps mp3]

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 18:36:02 +0100, nsj wrote:
They are obliged to supply every household with a phone line... except
in Hull.

K

"K" <kayjaybee@clara.net> wrote in message
newsan.2004.06.18.19.05.28.111955@clara.net...
Whats up with Hull, is it some kind of Hell dimension?

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 22:04:53 +0100, "Mr Wizzo"
<stevederby20@REMOVEMETOREPLY.hotmail.com> strung together this:

--

SJW
A.C.S. Ltd

nsj <pluto@uberaudio.info> wrote in message news:<2jg8tmF10sdl8U1@uni-berlin.de>...
In my view it's because the regulatory system is ineffective.

Remember that BT is effectively a monopoly in large areas of the
country (effectively everywhere outside the Hull area where there's no
cable provider).

I can only comment on data comms because that's what I am trying to
buy.

The bright sparks at Oftel (as it was) thought that by forcing the
incumbent network operators to resell services on a wholesale basis
they could get competition to work. If you're a BT customer it does -
witness the number of suppliers that can provide ADSL or dial-up
Internet services *IF* you have a BT phone line - they are almost all
resellers of BT's wholesale products. But come to Hull and NO ONE
(apart from one exception that I am aware of) resells any services on
KCs' lines. Ah, but wait a minute - why not? KC for sure offer a
wholesale Internet access product - it's in their price list. But
when you look closely it doesn't take an IQ of 200 to see why it's not
been purchased by any reseller. The problem is in the minimum
commitment to buy. For ADSL it's 1,500 (yes ONE THOUSAND FIVE
HUNDRED) lines within 6 months and the minimum charges are based on
that - and you have to cough up for a (very expensive) high capacity
leased line link to connect from Hull to your Internet access point.
You quickly find that unless you sign up about 1% of KC's customer
base in 6 months you either have to charge uncompetitive prices or go
bust. For dial-up services the minimum order is only 500 customers
but it seems that no one is willing to commit even to that.

There is another KC option where a reseller can sell on KC ADSL
products but ONLY to business customers. The reseller gets a small
(volume dependent) discount on KC's own prices which seems to me to be
designed to make it unattractive - only one company has taken up the
offer which is the exception I mentioned earlier.

BT's price list is much more complicated but there is one option with
ADSL where BT provides the Internet link (BT Central Plus) which has a
minimum order of 5000 lines - but that's not in a relatively tiny area
and there's no need for you to provide any access link to the
Internet.

So while KC have complied in name with Oftel's demand to offer
wholesale products they have chosen to do so in a way that makes them
exceedingly unattractive commercially.

My view is that those us in Hull who are suffering should try to get
together to file a formal complaint with Ofcom.

jb

"Mr Wizzo" <stevederby20@REMOVEMETOREPLY.hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<40d358ef$0$288$cc9e4d1f@news-text.dial.pipex.com>...
Yes - if what you want is competitively priced ADSL service or, if
you're a business, a "wires only" fixed IP address ADSL service.

Otherwise Hull is not a bad place to live and work. I've been here a
year now and do not miss the South of England at all.

jb