Entanet: Entanet likens Which? campaign on broadband speeds to Fawlty Towers scene
In the latest article published on its opinion website (http://opinion.enta.net/), leading wholesale connectivity services provider, Entanet, criticises consumer magazine Which? for its latest campaign to get ISPs to guarantee broadband speeds at the start of their contract, allow early termination without penalty and pay customers when speeds drop below what was promised.
In the article, Paul Heritage-Redpath, Product Manager at Entanet, draws comparison between the campaign and the famous scene from 1970s sitcom, Fawlty Towers, in which the eponymous hotelier thrashes his dysfunctional car with a stick.
Entanet points out that, as broadband services are always contended, no guarantee of speeds can be provided, except in the very broadest terms (e.g. that ADSL2+ download speeds will always be less than 24Mpbs and more than zero). The company adds that prices would inevitably rise if ISPs were expected to allow customers to exit contracts early without penalty. Finally, on the assertion by Which? that ISPs should fix problems as quickly as possible, Entanet states that while this is an obvious preference of customer and service provider alike, ultimately it’s Openreach that maintains the physical network on which all UK broadband connectivity depends and this directly affects the power of ISPs to hasten repairs.
Heritage-Redpath concludes by urging the consumer publication to take a leaf out of the books of Stephen Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and ‘Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood’. “By focusing on the middleman not the provider in this chain, you run the risk of looking like Basil Fawlty, thrashing his car because it won’t go where he wants it to”. He adds that consumers are generally unwilling to pay the considerably higher costs of Ethernet to guarantee speeds. “Anyone can have a line with a guaranteed speed on it today…digging holes for it costs much more than consumers are willing or able to pay though.”
To read the article in full, please visit http://opinion.enta.net/.
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About Entanet
Entanet is a leading wholesale voice and data communications provider and operates via a network of wholesale and resale channel partners. It was founded in 1996 by Taiwanese entrepreneur Jason Tsai and employs over 80 staff at its offices in Telford, Shropshire.
In February 2014, mid-market equity investor Mobeus Equity Partners made an initial £6 million investment to support a £14 million management buyout. Jason Tsai remains a significant shareholder.
Entanet offers an extensive portfolio of connectivity services, including wholesale and packaged broadband, leased lines, EFM, IP VPNs, hosting and co-location, VoIP and traditional telecoms. The company operates its own fully-resilient nationwide next generation network which enables it and its partners to provide up to 10Gbps capacity to customers right across the UK. In addition, it has further connectivity into Amsterdam and Frankfurt and over 900 peering relationships across Europe.
The quality of Entanet’s services and its commitment to partners has been widely recognised. The company was recently named Best Channel ISP in the 2013 Comms National Awards and as the winner in the 2013 ISPA Awards for Best Business Fixed Broadband. In the Comms National Awards 2012 it was awarded Best Channel Wholesale Service Provider. It also received the ISPA award for Best Internet Telephony in 2011 and was short-listed in the Specialist Services Vendor of the Year category in the CRN Channel Awards – an accolade it has won twice in previous years. The company has also been listed on a number of occasions in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100, Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA and other listings of fast-growing, privately-held UK companies.
For more information contact:
Darren Farnden, Head of Marketing
Entanet International Ltd
Tel: 0333 101 0000
Email: marketing@enta.net