You cannot possibly put BET on the same website, same press release or in the same sentence as the words "Next Generation Access" without the word NOT featuring prominently.
BT OpenReach have launched a website about -new acronym coming up folks - SFFA (Super Fast Fibre Access) and BET appears not only on the website but also in the press releases.
The front page of the site says:
We're using a substantial part of the £1.5 billion committed to Next Generation Access, by the BT Group, to enable 40% of homes in Britain to take advantage of Super-fast Broadband Access by 2012.
We are supportive of the ambitions of the Government’s Digital Britain initiative and are committed to work to help deliver a truly Digital Britain. Our Broadband Enabling Technology (BET) is one solution which will help us do just that. It's designed to deliver broadband speeds over long distances, where people are either unable to access the internet or can only do so now at very low speeds.
1Mbps, oh dearest BT OpenReach, IS a very low speed. It is below the proposed USO and hence not part of delivering a truly Digital Britain, IS IT?????
This is outrageous misleading of the general public and press and probably politicians, quangos, RDAs, funders, investors, shareholders etc.
Check out the URL of the website - /superfast.
Give me a break. This is precisely the type of atrocious behaviour by marketing departments and telcos which has led to the utter confusion of consumers etc that currently exists in this country.
Next generation access is vital to our current and future economic and social well-being. If a private company is allowed to start at the very beginning by LYING to the public about what NGA is, there is no bloody chance that we are going to get, as a nation, to where we need to.
And if anyone funds BET, they need putting on dial up at home and work for the rest of their given days.
If Ofcom will not lay down the law on this one, or at least issue some guidelines or a Code of Practice about NGA marketing to stop this in its tracks, I will personally pay a bunch of very cheap workers to spend as long as it takes out on the Internet making sure that as many websites as possible have either a forum post, blog comment, banner ad or similar on it saying something along the lines of "BT's BET is NOT next generation broadband. Complain now. Boycott BT." (Feel free to make suggestions for alternative wording).
Believe me, there are thousands of very, very cheap workers who do this stuff day in and day out (I have to deal with the results of their activities in my day job) - that will be one helluva lot of websites.
BT, be warned. This is unforgiveable behaviour. Your shareholders should be ashamed.
6 comments:
http://media140.org/?p=252 this link gives all the reasons why BET is a scam and a disgrace to the Digitalbritain agenda. BT must NOT be allowed to get away with this.
Does this constitute advertising? Because if so then a complaint (or several) to ASA might be in order.
It may fall under the CAP Code, but I personally am considering complaining to Trading Standards too.
I've complained to Viviane Reding too - seemed logical. ;o)
Where are the two fundamentals of ultra-broadband for everyone : Open Access, Symmetrical ?...
Studies from Netherlands, Nordics, and even from the Pau Broadband Country in France, show that as soon as people get true open, symmetrical access FTTH, uploads and downloads are quite equivalent.
Fight the right fight, Folks : OPEN SYMMETRICAL ACCESS. Concentrate your efforts on that one.
www.insight.bt.com/NGA
They have an NGA website where you can be sign up to be an "early adopter" ... opps it's a mailing list.
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