NTL unmetered delays could last all summer

Frustrated NTL customers may have to wait until September before being connected to the telco's unmetered internet service, NTL executive Jerry Roest revealed today.

In an interview with BBC Breakfast News this morning, Roest, managing director of NTL's product development, said it would take the company between two and three months to clear the backlog of registrations for its ntlworld service, launched on 17 April.

ntlworld offers NTL cable customers unmetered internet access included in the price of phone rental. Non-NTL customers signing up to the service must buy a line adaptor for £10 and spend at least £10 a month on non-internet calls.

Many subscribers, however, are still waiting for the registration software to arrive and some existing NTL customers are furious that new customers have received software ahead of them.

NTL - whose slogan is 'technology, tamed' - said it has had more than 600,000 registrations for the service, has prioritised existing customers, and is currently working on adding new customers on an area-by-area basis to ensure its network and helpdesk can cope.

The company also said those waiting for the registration software would receive a letter this week telling them when they will get the software - to the nearest month.

Customers hoping to be compensated for their wait, however, will be disappointed. NTL has said it will not compensate existing customers by refunding the cost of internet telephone calls during their wait. Rival unmetered services LibertySurf and Telewest both offered a free month's service for customers when their services were hit by congestion problems, although these customers had paid upfront charges.