BT admits to further ADSL bungle

BT has opened a service status help line for asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) customers after another major technical blunder rocked the service's roll out across the UK. This follows the revelation last week that BT's ISDN customers were outraged at the inability to upgrade to ADSL.

BTOpenworld, the telco's broadband internet service provider, last week admitted it had supplied incorrect modem software drivers to "around a third" of its single-user ADSL customers.

The glitch followed problems with BTOpenworld's IP address server, which failed to recycle IP addresses after users logged off, leaving many unable to reconnect.

The telco said it had opened the helpline (0800 169 0199) and would soon post the information on its website. BT said it had quadrupled the support staff on its help lines and would introduce a call management system to answer calls more effectively.

"We have listened and learned, and are introducing measures. We are aware that our customer services have had problems," said a BT representative. "Quality of service is very important to us."

According to BT, a "small batch" of incompatible drivers were sent out with the modems needed for the single-user ADSL products. The mistake is said to have affected about a third of customers for BTOpenworld, but the telecoms giant is not denying that it could have affected more than this.

BT blamed Alcatel for supplying incorrect software, and said it is sending out the correct drivers on a CDRom. It will also make them available online. BT claimed that it had now fixed the IP allocation problem, which frustrated users last week, and admitted it has suffered from "teething problems" since the commercial launch of its services.

The roll out of ADSL had already been delayed while the telco sorted out problems encountered during trials, but is now suffering from new issues.

ISDN users have been told that they face a long wait for ADSL while BT continues testing a system for smoothly transferring users from one system to the other.