Why can't I get Cable... ?

[56cheffy]

I live just off Abbey Lane, near the school.....every road nearby except for Greenhill Road and Harbord Road are able to receive cable...I called Telewest a while back and they told me 'they had no plans to supply to this street in the near future'...

 

It seems a little unfair to say the least that most of Sheffield (I assume) can receive cable but I/we can't!

 

Do they have an obligation to supply this service if it is available to others?

[GabbleRatcht]

Hi

 

sounds like I live very close to you , on Meadowhead.

 

I moved here from Hillsborough, where I had cable for years.

 

Had the same thing with Telewest, ' no plans etc etc'.

 

Untill one guy told me the truth.

 

They service areas that are more densly packed with properties i.e. more users per meter if they wire up terraced houses.

 

Good economics for Telewest, but if you live 50 feet out side the area they want to wire, you are stuffed. As was I. It stops at Abbey Lane and that's it.

 

Even though they have the franchise for cable in our area, they are under no obligation to actually supply it. Same with BT actually.

 

I had to go ADSL and then discovered there was a DACS box on the line. Had to get that moved to some other poor soles line. Took three months to get Broardband.

 

Don't know if I miss the cable that much now. Probably wouldn't buy it now if they did install it.

[mr chris]

I live in Crookes (ironically I used to live on Hardbord Road!) and we can't get cable either! It seems a little silly to service most of a city but neglect an area full of potential customers who are left to the dark arts of BT and DSL lines....

[esme]

I live in woodhouse mill and the cable stops 4 metres from my front door and they have no plans to extend that either

 

took me a year to get them to tell me that though

[Ghozer]

Have you tried NTL?? Cause Telewest are allowed to serve a certain ammount of the City, and NTL the rest, even though they are (at the top end) the same company..

 

If your reasons for not been able to get the service is that your road doesnt even have the lines under the street, then NTL wont work either unfortunatly

[GabbleRatcht]

I live in woodhouse mill and the cable stops 4 metres from my front door and they have no plans to extend that either

 

took me a year to get them to tell me that though

 

now that would really annoy me! 4m! But it's their rules and they are under no obligation to serve you even if it is their franchise area.

 

No wonder we are in the technological dark ages here in Blighty.

[56cheffy]

Have you tried NTL?? Cause Telewest are allowed to serve a certain ammount of the City, and NTL the rest, even though they are (at the top end) the same company..

 

If your reasons for not been able to get the service is that your road doesnt even have the lines under the street, then NTL wont work either unfortunatly

 

No...we don't have the cables laid.

[esme]

Have you tried NTL?? Cause Telewest are allowed to serve a certain ammount of the City, and NTL the rest, even though they are (at the top end) the same company..

 

If your reasons for not been able to get the service is that your road doesnt even have the lines under the street, then NTL wont work either unfortunatly

NTL and Telewest were part of the same company last I heard

 

and I watched them laying the cables, then just as they got to my bit they downed tools and buggered off, by the time I found out it was because they thought it was a private road and they needed special access it was too late, there's a service strip across the top of everyones garden that can be dug up by any service company, we aren't allowed to plant in it for that reason, sadly the diggers were unaware of this hence no cable and despite my repeated attempts for at least a year I couldn't get them to come back

[rubydazzler]

The stupidest thing ever is that a friend on mine lives on Shortridge Street, directly behind Yorkshire Cable's HO and they don't have cables laid around there either.

 

Catliffe is the worst place in the world for reception apparently, ideal for cable you'd think ... but NO!

[UKSentinel]

I work for ntl:telewest and have done for the past 9 years. Whilst we had franchises for most areas and continued to lay cabling in new areas, this stopped due to the digital revolution. All monies put aside for new builds were diverted to meet the market for digital demand. Now that we have merged with ntl, and have also acquired the licence for the Virgin Brand, new builds are the next stage. The easiest way to secure a possibility of a new build in your area is to either send a letter or email showing your interest. Obviously the more people that are interested in a specific area, the better chance you have of being included once the new builds take place.

 

I should add that I'm not a spokesman for the company, only an employee. I might add also that if you're not in a direct catchment area for ntl:telewest, why not try virgin.net. Personally, I'd never leave a Telewest area, I like my 10 meg broadband too much!