BT accused of "pulling" lines

Tua chairman lays fault at BT's door as ISDN customers wait for anexplanation of "sleepy" ISDN lines

Telecommunications User Association (TUA) boss Bill Mieran has accused BT engineers of "pulling" lines to provide capacity to other customers.

"It's down to heavy handed engineers who see no traffic on the line and pull the pair. It is as simple and idiotic as that," he told Network News.

His comments come after another week when BT has failed to offer an explanation for ISDN lines cutting out after a period of inactivity of seven days or more, a problem that has hit dozens of Network News readers around the country.

June Campbell, BT's ISDN marketing manager, was expected to answer user concerns at a European Teleconferencing Federation (ETF) conference last Thursday - but pulled out at the last minute.

Patricia Napier, executive director of ETF, described Campbell's no-show as "pathetic", but BT said it had to balance the importance of Oftel's pricing recommendations and speaking at a conference "attended by a handful of people".

Mieran added: "This problem could be avoided, but it needs good records - and it needs engineers to abide by the records."

As the story enters its third week, BT has at last admitted that it has received calls on the matter. A BT spokesman said: "We are taking the matter seriously, and there have been customer complaints. We are investigating - one of our top technical people is on the case." Reacting to TUA accusations, he said: "We are not ruling anything out."

BT's helpdesk has been briefed on the issue and told to expect calls.

BT had previously insisted that Network News hand-over reader correspondence before it would act. This was refused

BT is encouraging affected customers to ring the ISDN helpdesk (0800) 181514 and quote Network News.