Offline sinc e 26th February

[ctsnww]

This is a disgrace, I'm told that Sky customers on my road have all been offline since the 26th (us included).

There has been absolutely no communication about what has happened, how it happened or what is being done about it. Indeed, I phoned to ask what the situation was on Monday of this week, if I hadn't I would know nothing at all!

It appears there is a problem between the exchange and our property, I'm guessing it is a problem with hardware at the exchange because I was informed that the system should be up later today, almost a week without broadband.

As someone who frequently works from home, this has been a nightmare, having to tether to my phone and use a lot of data.

Now, I understand that if Openreach are involved (they are) then there is little you can do, but you really do need to look at your SLA with BT because this length of time is unacceptable.

To rub salt in the wound I have received an email telling me that the cost of the service will be increasing by £3 a month from April.

This is disgraceful.

[TimmyBGood]

---

@ctsnww wrote:

Now, I understand that if Openreach are involved (they are) then there is little you can do, but you really do need to look at your SLA with BT because this length of time is unacceptable.

---

Openreach Ltd (not 'BT' in this context) offers the same target of two working days to fix to all domestic ISPs on the national network for which they are the monopoly maintainer: there's no option for anything better on a domestic broadband contract.  They report to Ofcom that they meet this target for around 85% of faults: unfortunately this means 15% may take considerably longer to resolve, particularly where digging in pavements or roadway is involved.

[Daniel0210]

---

@ctsnww wrote:

This is a disgrace, I'm told that Sky customers on my road have all been offline since the 26th 

---

@ctsnww 

I presume you've put the wrong date there and in the thread title as that's today.

In the UK two WORKING days is the service level agreement between ISP’s and Openreach for fixing a fault.

The below link explains the Ofcom agreed auto compensation scheme which Sky operates for when there is a TOTAL loss of Sky Broadband or Sky Talk for UK customers.
https://www.sky.com/help/articles/auto-compensation

If you have a total loss of service and it isn’t fixed after two full WORKING days from when you notify Sky of the fault, you will become eligible for it. It’s applied 30 days after the fault has been repaired and will come in the form of a credit appearing on your Sky account (from 01/04/24 the rates are £9.76 per day). There is no equivalent scheme in place for customers in the Republic of Ireland.

As Sky broadband is a domestic set up there is no extra or quicker support for those working from home.

[ctsnww]

3 pm still no service.

Yes the date should read 20th February.

Open reach need to change their working practice.

The UK government say about internet services being essential to people in the UK, as essential as water or electricity etc

The UK government has emphasized the importance of internet services, considering them essential for modern life, similar to electricity and water. The government's broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) aims to ensure everyone has access to a decent broadband service, recognizing its critical role in accessing vital services and supporting businesses[1]. Additionally, reports suggest that many consumers view broadband as an essential service, and there have been discussions about designating it as such[3][9]. However, it is not officially classified as a utility like water or electricity, but its necessity is widely acknowledged.

Citations:
[1] [PDF] A new broadband Universal Service Obligation Statement of Intent https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7ffe2a40f0b62302690ddb/USOStatementofIntentfinal11O...
[2] Utilities - Gas, Electricity, Water, Phone, TV, Internet | UK Yankee https://www.uk-yankee.com/expat-guide-uk/utilities-gas-electricity-water-phone-tv-internet
[3] Gov Report Suggests Designating UK Broadband as Essential Utility https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/08/gov-report-suggests-designating-uk-broadband-as-essent...
[4] [PDF] Security of Network and Information Systems - GOV.UK https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c87b11540f0b6369dbf91b2/NIS_Consultation_Response_-_...
[5] Power Compare - Compare Business Utilities & Home Energy https://powercompare.co.uk
[6] Improving broadband for Very Hard to Reach Premises - GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-broadband-for-very-hard-to-reach-premises/outc...
[7] Draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for online safety - GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-statement-of-strategic-priorities-for-online-safety...
[8] Comparing Different Utility Providers What to Look For https://utilityking.co.uk/comparing-different-utility-providers-what-to-look-for/
[9] Internet is Essential Utility & Human Right | Good Things Foundation https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/policy-and-research/research-and-evidence/research-2024/interne...

So why is this state of affairs allowed in the 21st century?

But I digress, communication from Sky and Openreach has been abysmal.

No updates despite the promise of regular text messages.

[ctsnww]

Just spoken to Customer Services  and the situation has now changed.....

Instead of being online today, there is now a review on the 28th!!!!!

I'm told that I will receive text updates now - none of this helps me though.

Openreach need to pull their finger out - they really don't care - from past experience the "engineers" do 3 jobs a day maximum and if the job finishes before 3:30 pm they drag it out so they can't go on another job. [removed]

Moderator note: removed inappropriate comment

[TimmyBGood]

---

@ctsnww wrote:

Open reach need to change their working practice.

---

Then we'll all need to pay a lot more for broadband: the sliver of our £1 to £2 per day subscriptions which ISPs pay for wholesale network access and maintenance doesn't cover more than the current SLA. 

'Guaranteed' 4, 8 and 12 hour response times are available on business broadband services, for several hundred pounds a month.