British Telecom Pulling Plug On Dial-up on September 1

[JMcEntegart]

Say goodbye to dial-up.

British Telecom Pulling Plug On Dial-up on September 1 : Read more

 

[knightmike]

What's dial-up?

 

[Chetou]

You wouldn't know, there's no Facebook status of it.

 

[house70]

Just because there are only 1000 customers using dialup, BT should have done the right thing in helping them make the switch. BT would have looked like it cares about it's customers (I would go on a limb here and say old faithful customers, too, since they're still on dialup), instead of saying "we'll cut that off you're on your own, we don't give a damn because it's not profitable for us to maintain it anymore".

 

[Someone Somewhere]

@house

It's 1K who have dial-up and live in areas where broadband isn't available.

The actual number is likely somewhat higher.

 

[house70]

@house

It's 1K who have dial-up and live in areas where broadband isn't available.

The actual number is likely somewhat higher.

You're probably right, I was just making a reference to the idea in the article.

 

[Grandmastersexsay]

Just because there are only 1000 customers using dialup, BT should have done the right thing in helping them make the switch. BT would have looked like it cares about it's customers (I would go on a limb here and say old faithful customers, too, since they're still on dialup), instead of saying "we'll cut that off you're on your own, we don't give a damn because it's not profitable for us to maintain it anymore".

What about doing the right thing for their stock holders? It amazes me that some people don't understand a business is in business to make money. They are not in business to provide jobs, provide a service, or help people. They exist solely to make money.

 

[ddpruitt]

@house

It's 1K who have dial-up and live in areas where broadband isn't available.

The actual number is likely somewhat higher.

You're probably right, I was just making a reference to the idea in the article.

BT has to pay maintenance on outdated equipment that they probably can't find anymore and keeping even a few thousand customers on dial up is too much hassle. There are other cheaper and easier to deal with ways of getting internet even if broadband isn't an option.

 

[one-shot]

THIS IS OUTRAGE!!!

 

[InvalidError]

@house

It's 1K who have dial-up and live in areas where broadband isn't available.

And are direct subscribers to BT dial-up.

I'm guessing there are thousands more on other dial-up ISPs who aren't going to be affected by this.

 

[softplacetoland]

To the BT immensely sympathetic, compassionate commenters

I ask are you a shareholders? Is that hard to sympathize with people who get screwed by this decision more than with some corporate benemoth? I always wondered why are people today so broken that they know all the reasons why bloodsuckers need to suck blood and don't know either one why that blood would be important to the victims. Well, obviously, people are that broken [some commenters here prove it] and today, if myth about David and Gloliath was truth I know whose fan would they be.

 

[InvalidError]

I ask are you a shareholders? Is that hard to sympathize with people who get screwed by this decision more than with some corporate benemoth?

I do not see why you think BT is screwing people with this:
1- for BT dial-up subscribers who can get DSL, they get low-speed DSL that is both FASTER and CHEAPER than their existing dial-up plans
2- for BT dial-up subscribers who cannot get DSL, they can still get dial-up internet from some other provider who probably costs less than BT did

Sounds like nothing more than a mild inconvenience but if BT's former dial-up subscribers can be bothered to shop around for their next dial-up ISP, they can most likely get a better deal elsewhere which makes the situation win-win-win: BT gets to ditch their dial-up modem banks, 3rd-party dial-up providers get new subscribers and dial-up subscribers get the final push they need to shop around for better deals.

 

[Pherule]

Cutting off people from dial-up is a blessing in disguise. Most people here either haven't experienced dial-up or have forgotten just how excruciatingly painful it is.

 

[house70]

Geez. Didn't expect my comment to raise such a storm. LOL.
I was not implying that BT should keep the dial-up equipment just for the sake of the few die-hards; I was merely saying that BT could have offered to facilitate the switch, rather than dropping the customers (with very little warning at that, as well). Say, they could have said "this is it people, but if you are interested in broadband, here are a few options and we can help you get in touch with them and give you a hand throughout the process". It would be just proper business practice, even if in the end you lose these people to other businesses (otherwise put, called "being nice", esp. to someone that you had as a client for may years). I doubt the BT stock would have plunged beyond repair just for taking this tiny extra step.

I did not see the official BT communique, either, so all this was just referring to the info in the article. It would not be the first time when a reported piece failed to give all the details.

 

[southernshark]

Surely people aren't so helpless that they can't find a new dial up service. I don't think the company owes them any sort of help when it comes to finding some other service. For most of their dial up customers, they are actually doing them a favor since the DSL service is cheaper and a heck of a lot faster. For the 1000 who can't get dial up, there are obviously other options out there. And it wouldn't really be appropriate for the company to lead them to it's own subsidiary. Some would call that favoritism. Others might even call it illegal unless they provided them with a list of all available providers, and not just their own subsidiary. The people can find their own service and should really since that will provide them a chance to price their options in a free market place.

If anyone wants to be angry about greedy corporations, we should be angry at the greedy monopolies in America who have bribed the government into giving them said monopolies allowing them to charge much higher fees for broadband than what people pay in Europe.