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Cable & Wireless Woes

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Submitted by BU family member RE Engineer

Hey David

RE Engineer here. I am wondering why I am not seeing anything about the extremely poor C&W internet service over the past few weeks and the long outages in some areas. I don’t know if I am extra sensitive to this since my new job requires that I depend heavily on the world wide web but after all the talks about BL&P and the outages etc, I am shocked that no one has come out and spoken about the horribly unreliable service of our very own C&W.

I will be doing certificate by distance education starting next month and I am to start another certification in January, and if this sort of service continues I am not sure how either will work out. I am very understanding when it comes to the limitations of technology etc, but it seems C&W does as it pleases and goes unchecked, and just like BL&P we have no other viable options. Contrary to BL&P is that they blatantly give poor service, without giving any reasons as to why and they constantly rake in millions in profit and continue to downsize as they see fit.

I know of persons all over the island that have been experiencing the same grievances and I read the paper daily and listen to the radio. I am yet to get any explanation as to why.

Regards

RE Engineer

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74 responses to “Cable & Wireless Woes”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    The BU household definitely have noticed a slowdown but thought the bad weather was the influencing factor. Come to think of it we cannot ever remember receiving a credit from C&W or Digicel for any down time.

    Maybe ROK and the guys from BCW can advise us on this one.

  2. Bdos Consumer Watch Avatar
    Bdos Consumer Watch

    There are also some girls at BCW!!!!!!!

    We are right now seriously questioning some practises of Digicel in particular to do with some real terrible advertising to put in mildly.

    We have not had an increase in complaints about the internet service of Cable and Wireless but we will definitely investigate what RE Engineer is saying.

    Overall though these two telecommunciation companies are really doing a job on what is a very docile Barbados consumer public.

    We will be in the not too distant future trying to get some action going .

    Together we must be able to make a difference

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks BCW, please keep the BU family updated.

  4. reluctant nonbeliever Avatar
    reluctant nonbeliever

    I’ve definitely noticed ADSL service has been extremely poor lately, especially after midnight, but also in early morning.
    What the hell is going on?

  5. bangospeaks Avatar
    bangospeaks

    Have to agree with Re Engineer, but my experience is that this poor service has been going on for years. For the past two or three months it has grown worse.

    Many consumers will probably not notice the many 30 second breaks in any one day. However, if you were streaming or uploading data to the internet you definitely feel it.

    Sometimes in the middle of surfing you may get an error page coming. If you refresh after a few moments the page will them come up.

    Whatever they are doing also affects software functionality. So that while you did not lose the internet, your software does not function properly; goes crazy for a few minutes or just don’t work at all.

    You will also find in the middle of chat, your messenger logs off and then back on.

    I remember during the time when C&W was asking for metered rates, it claimed that it was not making money and that the plant needed upgrading.

    Then all of a sudden a perfectly good service, started not having dial tone immediately when you pick up; not being able to get through when you dial, etc.

    Wonder what they are up to now. Has to be big for that to be going on so long. They are trying to prove a point by flexing their monopolistic muscles?

    I believe that C&W is getting away with it because too many people do not know sufficient about the technology and figure they are doing something wrong, when all the while C&W is the culprit.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    What are we missing here? We have a Public Counsel and a Fair Trading and yet we are reading statements that C&W is flexing monopolistic power?

    Can someone please explain?

  7. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    David

    You should have been at the hearing. You would understand the size of the collossus. The arrogance.

    When a C&W representative could get up and in so much words say to the FTC Panel that the Government has already decided and they (the FTC Panel) have no choice but to rubber stamp it, you would understand.

    Of course we all know that the FTC did not rubber stamp the Green Paper, but then the Price Cap happen and quick so, telephone rates went up; after we fight so hard against a team of high powered lawyers, experts and professionals.

    Let me tell you the importance of a hearing because I find that our best attack is when the public knows. We does then get results.

    You could imagine that C&W was charging us cell phone rates by the minute. When challenged at that Rate Hearing by a man called Alvin Thorpe, who likes to call himself a simple man, the chief engineer admitted that the capability of the equipment allowed it to measure call time by the millisecond (in other words, by the millionth of a second).

    Not very long after that session, C&W and all the rest of them started charging by the second.

    Another thing we found out is that our telecoms unit is not equipped to calibrate or measure any miscalculations on calls by C&W. We have to take what they tell us. Therefore C&W reports are what the Telecoms Unit has to go by.

    It is true that C&W is required by law to record what they do, but in this instance there is no capacity to police it.

    Ever try using your timer on your cell phone? Well I notice that mine has never been able to tally with any of the service providers. Maybe they improve on that now ’cause I ain’t check recently.

  8. Green Monkey Avatar
    Green Monkey

    Mobile phone use ‘raises children’s risk of brain cancer fivefold’

    Alarming new research from Sweden on the effects of radiation raises fears that today’s youngsters face an epidemic of the disease in later life

    By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
    The Independent, Sep 21, 2008

    Alarming new research from Sweden on the effects of radiation raises fears that today’s youngsters face an epidemic of the disease in later life

    Children and teenagers are five times more likely to get brain cancer if they use mobile phones, startling new research indicates.

    The study, experts say, raises fears that today’s young people may suffer an “epidemic” of the disease in later life. At least nine out of 10 British 16-year-olds have their own handset, as do more than 40 per cent of primary schoolchildren.

    Yet investigating dangers to the young has been omitted from a massive £3.1m British investigation of the risks of cancer from using mobile phones, launched this year, even though the official Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme – which is conducting it – admits that the issue is of the “highest priority”.

    Despite recommendations of an official report that the use of mobiles by children should be “minimised”, the Government has done almost nothing to discourage it.

    Last week the European Parliament voted by 522 to 16 to urge ministers across Europe to bring in stricter limits for exposure to radiation from mobile and cordless phones, Wi-fi and other devices, partly because children are especially vulnerable to them. They are more at risk because their brains and nervous systems are still developing and because – since their heads are smaller and their skulls are thinner – the radiation penetrates deeper into their brains.

    The Swedish research was reported this month at the first international conference on mobile phones and health.

    It sprung from a further analysis of data from one of the biggest studies carried out into the risk that the radiation causes cancer, headed by Professor Lennart Hardell of the University Hospital in Orebro, Sweden. Professor Hardell told the conference – held at the Royal Society by the Radiation Research Trust – that “people who started mobile phone use before the age of 20″ had more than five-fold increase in glioma”, a cancer of the glial cells that support the central nervous system. The extra risk to young people of contracting the disease from using the cordless phone found in many homes was almost as great, at more than four times higher.

    Those who started using mobiles young, he added, were also five times more likely to get acoustic neuromas, benign but often disabling tumours of the auditory nerve, which usually cause deafness.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mobile-phone-use-raises-childrens-risk-of-brain-cancer-fivefold-937005.html

    Maybe Thompy should take the tax money on the cell phones and put it into a medical fund so it can be used to assist all the Bajans diagnosed with cell phone induced brain cancer in the future.

  9. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    We at the PDC have recently been experiencing serious problems whilst using the internet service that has been supplied to us by Sunbeach Communications Inc.

    Some of the severe problems that we continue to encounter whilst using this internet service are: downloading problems – you have to wait very long before the item is down loaded or some times you just never succeed in down loading – NO fault of your computer system though; connection problems – which are the most frustrating for us some times – some times when you are now beginning to go on the internet after a significant break you have to redial about THREE times before you actually make connection to which ever site you are seeking to get onto – often in that time of attempting to make connection you have windows appearing and telling you about ERRORS being made – that the remote computer is NOT responding and all kinds of foolishness – and some times even upon eventually making connection – suddenly you are disconnected – you are told that your link has failed or that the service provider CANNOT be found – PISS POOR service, indeed, all of this after you have finished paid your service fee to Sunbeach Communications Inc.; and submission of information problems – say, you are submitting a post to BU, some times you have to be wary of whilst in the process of writing a submission and still checking other sites for information – like at this time – there becomes a moment when without submitting the item – which has happened to us a few times times before – that what you have so far written becomes submitted without your ever clicking the submit “button”- and sometimes you have to be careful you DO NOT lose information that you have made no copies of – which has happened to us several times before – at the point in time you are submitting it to BU.

    However, the truth is that we do NOT think that these problems are directly caused by the Sunbeach Communications operations. What we think is that the source of these problems lie at the feet of Cable and Wireless, which itself provides Sunbeach Communications with the platform from which to provide its internet service.

    Finally, we in the PDC believe that it is high time that there is an effective, well coordinated and unrelenting people led effort in Barbados and throughout the CARICOM sub-region – to wrestle this greedy and vicious Cable and Wireless monster to the ground and at the same time to save us from the horrendous attacks that it metes out – with impunity – to the broad masses and middle classes of people in this region. For, we know that too the governments of this same region have failed us – the broad masses and middle classes – in that regard!!!

    PDC

  10. David Avatar
    David

    Thanks for posting GG, we got your email.

    It would be good to post the source document(study). We suspect that if there is truth in this report that we will see a parallel between the tobacco companies and telecommunications companies. There is too much money at stake.

  11. CENTIPEDE Avatar
    CENTIPEDE

    Wasn’t there news of a new communications Company – associated with BL&P – that was going to offer land lines and an internet service? what ever became of that?

  12. David Avatar
    David

    Telebarbados?

    Don’t they target commercial and high end?

  13. Avatar
    Anonymous

    I think C&W does not have the bandwidth to meet the high demand for high speed internet. People, encouraged by C&W, believe there will be flying along on the internet and everything will be so much faster and better.
    Unless C&W upgrades more, which I think they are in the process of doing, then the more users that get access the more congestion and degradation of the service there will be.
    I think C&W does not (cannot) guarantee the quality of adsl service.

    I used to get very poor service in my area and I terminated it. I then tried to get Freemotion but that was unavilable and since Sunbeach means going through C&W, I reapplied to C&W. The high demand for service meant a 6mths wait but I not get great service.

    RE Engineer investigate the router and see if it has been recalled by C&W.

  14. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    Sorry for the intrusion to post comments unrelated to the topic.

    …..Uh just wondering what IAN WALCOTT HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE FOLLOWING!…

    “Lashley also announced that his ministry will also post PROJECT MANAGERS at every housing site to ensure that the project is completed in a timely manner, as well as report on the progress to the NHC’s general manager and deputy general manager and police the project to ensure no cost overruns.”

    …..Maybe he can get another of his favourite jobs,…uh government pick. :0 lol!

    http://www.nationnews.com/story/294429853042743.php

  15. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Anonymous

    You hit the nail on the head, except that when I look at the plant and recent upgrades, I would have to say it is induced.

    From my observation, this is how C&W moves. They hold back the technology. For example, I know that they figure that free VoiP is not in their favour cause it free. So as spite would have it….

  16. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    REE et al… A few things to check…

    1. Log into your ADSL modem, and find the page which shows your modem’s Signal to Noise Ratio. This should be up in the 20s.

    2. Do you ever notice crackling on your phone line? Particularly during rain? Do you ever notice that you entirely lose internet for a few minutes, and then when it returns you’re on a different IP address?

    The above two points would point to a problem with your last mile copper. If this is the case, you can complain to C&W.

    Importantly, failing the above two issues, you really have little recourse. ADSL is a “best efforts”, “oversubscribed” service. For every kb/s you have been “sold”, appoximately 30 other people have been sold the same kb/s.

    Check the contact and terms of service for ADSL.

    Best advise to anyone who happens to be in a coverage area: call Freemotion, and buy their $100 a month wireless service.

    For businesses, TeleBarbados’ $1000 a month service is effectively “clear-channel” — as in, you get all the bandwidth you’ve contracted for.

  17. PiedPiper Avatar
    PiedPiper

    While C & W need to upgrade their network and provide a more stable service, it is up to the individual customer to make sure they receive credits for service interruptions. C & W, like many other companies will happily take your money for poor service. You have to play hardball with these people and phone to demand credits each and every time that you do not get the service you are paying for.

  18. I Amnomouse Avatar
    I Amnomouse

    Telebarbados (Freemotion) need to seriously invest in offering the residential service to more areas.
    I am beginning to think that they are extremely satisfied with the way Freemotion dial up is performing, which imho is not value for money looking at it from the consumer side of course.

  19. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Green Monkey

    This has been known about cell phones for a very long time. Before there were cell phones, the Police and Security Forces of the USA used this technology.

    Back then policemen who wore their radios in their top pockets, on their hips or dashed it between their legs when driving, got cancer in those spots where they usually put them.

    According to the developers this technology was made maybe a thousand times safer. Is it? Or is it that they simply tried to alleviate the fears of people so they could milk us through the telecommunications industry?

    It is like sugar to a diabetic. If you dilute the juice to make it less sweet, but you drink all the diluted juice, you could as well drink the juice and chase with water… but whatever you do, you will consume the same amount of sugar once the whole drink goes down, not less.

    Less radiation but more exposure may be the same thing. So whenever you get the opportunity, take it off and away from your person.

  20. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @I Amnomouse: “Telebarbados (Freemotion) need to seriously invest in offering the residential service to more areas.”

    I agree with you (partially).

    But what will drive any company to invest is demand. If everyone reading this blog called them on Monday, and asked about service in their area, it would help them justify investment…

    As a tangent — there is now an alternative Calling Card service provider: Blue Communications (www.blue.bb). After all the complaining about C&W ripping us off, how many of you have used Blue for your international calling?

    The consumer receives the service they demand!

    (Full disclosure: I have no financial connection with TeleBarbados, Freemotion, nor Blue.)

  21. I Amnomouse Avatar
    I Amnomouse

    C&W creates demand for their services by advertising and promoting said services. Even if the majority of people believes that C&W is greedy and wants to rip them off, they are seldom aware of alternatives.
    I dare to suggest that Digicel’s success in Barbados as oppose to AT&T was bacause of marketing.
    Freemotion needs to do some marketing, create some hype, not sit and wait for the consumer to discover them.

  22. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @I Amnomouse… now *that* I agree with entirely!!!

  23. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    Peoples, we recently suffered a block out of our internet service – for probably about two and a half hours. Yes, a block out – intentional or other wise we dont know – but nevertheless a block out of our access to the internet service provided to us by the same ABOVE mentioned internet service provider!!!

    And, would you BELIEVE IT that this problem started just after having made our last post under this thread around 8.00 am. Could any one understand it?

    Could any one comprehend that here is it that we are on this blog/under this thread dealing with the problems which we are encountering on these internet services and here is it that – just like that – our service is blocked out for roughly 2 and half hours??

    Could any one understand that for known or unknown reasons we were being told in the window that came up every time we sought to access this internet service: that there was an ERROR – the line was busy??

    Could anyone believe that we unplugged the phone line from the computer many times and pushed it into the phone and that every time we did so and did ring this 2286300 number it was busy, in truth and in fact??

    Could any of you who are reading this submission believe it – that upon discovering that we had a problem on our hands – we quickly called up Cable and Wireless concerning this said problem at about quarter past 8, and the operator there told us that they DID NOT have any reports of problems with the 2286300 number for Sunbeach Communications??

    Could any one believe that we soon thereafter made a check to the Cable and Wireless Customer Contact Service and using the Automated Bill Assistance Service, we were told that our account balance was up to date??

    Would any of you believe another of our members from in another part of Barbados ( at our meeting place in Black Rock, St. Michael) – upon being requested – via a Cable and Wireless land line – to make a call to Sunbeach Communications using the same 2286300 number, did later – on another call made quickly thereafter to him – say to us that he did hear the phone ringing – that it was NOT busy??

    Could you imagine that we were only able to resume access to the internet probably about twenty some thing minutes to 11?

    Now, what the hell took place that could have caused us to suffer that block out!!! Huh?? Sunbeach Communications and Cable and Wireless would you darn tell us what could have possibly gone wrong there!!!

    PDC

  24. JC Avatar
    JC

    I believe you PDC ha ha ha ha typical master slave antics ha ha ha ha!

  25. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    To: BU, JC, and others

    From: The People’s Democratic Congress (PDC)

    This is a very serious, serious wake up call for us – PDC, for persons operating locally based internet blogsites like BU, commentators on blogs and such like, that freedom of speech and expression via blogs in this country could so easily be threatened or undermined at any point in time by backward, authoritarian, conservative reactionary forces inside and outside of this country.

    While we really do NOT know what actually took place at either Sunbeach Communications or Cable and Wireless, in so far as it relates to the fact that we did suffer that block out IMMEDIATELY AFTER criticizing Cable and Wireless on this blog, and which is something that therefore makes us unable to make any accusations or imputations against any one person or any entities involved in that unprecendented block out, what we nevertheless do know from this very sordid experience is that freedom of speech and expression via this fairly newly established communications media – blogs – could so easily be threatened in this country, by esp. those private people ( local internet service providers ) who are in ownership and possession of the wherewithal – technological infrastructure and knowhow – and/or that by way of their owning and possessing such crucial infrastructure and knowhow could so easily get instructions or influences from the government and/or any other powerful enough corporate bodies concerning their operations – to produce – albeit if and whenever they please, or at some one else’s behest – assuming they are altogether aggrieved by whatever you (bloggers) may say negative about them – actions that are intended to curtail or otherwise detract from such freedoms of speech and expression in this country’s space.

    Such a distinct and frightening possibility – at a time when the traditional media in Barbados are so undemocratically controlled by a few voracious corporate interests and their supporters, makes us the more greater promoters and defenders of the nature and significance of internet BLOGGING in this country’s space, and thus makes us wish to make the call upon the state and the broad masses and middle classes of people in this country to – in the interests of preserving fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression – move with haste and physically secure aspects of this most important medium for the people of Barbados.

    PDC

  26. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @PDC…

    While I encourage paranoia (“Even paranoids have enemies!”), it is also very important to remember that correlation does not necessarily mean causality…

  27. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    PDC

    What would be your action call? We need to be creative here and pool our thoughts. What you described above is definitely a familiar MO.

  28. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Just trying to send out two e-mails. The recipient took about 15 minutes to get the one to caribsurf address and ain’t get the second one to hotmail yet.

    Could anybody explain why?

  29. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @ROK…

    Sending from what service provider?

  30. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    C&W

  31. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @ROK…

    Probably means C&W’s Mail Transport Agent(s) (MTAs) are busy… They may be dealing with a bunch of spam, or have been allocated too little bandwidth.

    Try using an MTA which is not so, um, let’s just say, constrained…

  32. David Avatar
    David

    Here is a question which is out of left field we know.

    Under what circumstances can the audit/maintenance logs be requested to be made public to determine if a system support was disable to a service area/subscriber?

  33. dominoes Avatar
    dominoes

    LET we BOYCOTT cable and wireless

  34. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @David…

    My understanding of the situation would suggest that if a customer had proof of being off-line, brought this to the provider’s attention, and the issue was not then rectified…

    Only then would the FTC be willing to become involved.

    Back to the issue of ADSL being slow… I found a copy of C&W’s Internet Terms and Conditions…

    8. Provision of Service

    8.1 We will provide you with the Service in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

    8.2 We will try to make sure that the Service is always available to you. We will not be liable if the Service is affected by circumstances or conditions outside our reasonable control.

    8.3 You acknowledge and agree that:

    8.3.1 we can only provide the Service in areas of Barbados in which we are technically able from time to time;

    8.3.2 we will endeavour to provide the Service to you at the access rate you choose but the speed may be affected at times due to network congestion and other reasons;

    8.3.3 the Internet is made up of many interconnected networks and therefore we can make no warranties regarding the performance, reliability or integrity of these networks. You further acknowledge and agree that it is technically impracticable to provide a fault free service and that we do not undertake to do so.

    …or, put another way…

    The “Service Level Agreement” (SLA) says that you’ll get what you get, with no recourse…

    This is why I advise businesses that they should not rely on C&W’s ADSL service for business-critical connectivity…

  35. dominoes Avatar
    dominoes

    GO to promotec

  36. Tell me Why Avatar
    Tell me Why

    Sorry to be late, but have anyone encountered problems with the new Siemens ADSL wireless from C & W? These new systems are surely not customer-friendly. These new replacements comes without any directions how to set them up. As a matter of fact, you have to dial the 1 800 number to speak to an operator. If you don’t know about computers. may the Lord help you. Within one month, I had to reset my modem. This $91 million dollar profit and the planned reduction in staff shows that C & W main interest is Dollars and not Service.

  37. .22 Avatar
    .22

    Another of many reasons why we need serious ISP competition in this very country ASAP, no matter if a new ISP is providing ADSL (non-naked or naked), Cable, Fibre-Optic etc. So that we have viable options to choose from. At least TeleBarbados is out there.

    Feeling totally constrained to slow-downs and connection drop-outs and ludicrous high-latencies almost day and especially at nights, is quite ridiculous. I had to wait until midnight to even go and watch a video and freely go and surf? We’ve been experiencing this service for a full 2 months now. How Inconvenient…

    And Ya… the DSL speeds were atrocious when the rainfall hits too and I live in a high area.

  38. .22 Avatar
    .22

    @ Tell Me Why

    C&W replaced my father’s D-Link router with the Siemens router-modem. I guess I’m getting more choppier VOIP data than our old-routers and it appears to be slower in speed than before.

    I guess I’m not getting the Advertised speeds than before with our new Siemens router C&W gave us. Oh, then again, we had to reset the Internet frequently from the usual internet outages we were getting for the past 2 months.

  39. Tell me Why Avatar
    Tell me Why

    Oh, then again, we had to reset the Internet frequently from the usual internet outages we were getting for the past 2 months.
    ……………………………………………………….
    We were told that we will getting a higher internet speed but it turned out the internet is moving slower than the original speed.

  40. David Avatar
    David

    We have asked some questions above where we had hoped to identify a path for affected subscribers to follow. Based on responses from Chris, ROK et al we are a little disappointed that after the establishment of the FTC, Public Counsel, a host of Intervenors, a few consumer advocate agencies etc we are non the wiser. It is really disappointing.

    We would dearly love to hear from MP Ronald Toppin why he resigned as Minister with oversight for the FTC. The public deserves to know.

  41. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    Peoples of the BU family,

    Since I started writing on this blog, I have had no end of problems with the internet service from C&W. As .22 said, we have been getting more problems in the last two mnths even before this worst scenario.

    Up to today, I was responding to PDC and when I hit the submit button, my response got lost; it did not come up. I had to come back tonight to respond to PDC over on the NGO string, ’cause I was not going over that again so quickly.

    Not only that, the page kept refreshing all the time and every time it refreshed itself I lost what I was typing. So i had to check to see if my computer was virus infected but it is not.

    My simple answer to you David is that the political will is not motivated to do anything about C&W and up to this moment, both parties have done the same thing.

  42. David Avatar
    David

    @ROK

    We are sorry to read about your Internet woes, we would think that you have the political clout to get C&W to check this problem out. If all else fails why not switch your carrier? We have some wireless networks out there don’t we?

    Based on what you have written it is worrying that despite all the legislation and agencies established to protect the consumer it comes down to whether a politicians says yes or know. We blame MP Ronald Coppin for this mess. If he was man enough to fess-up about the issues he encountered at the FTC which forced his resignation the issue of the FTC would not have fallen into the political quagmire.

  43. ROK Avatar
    ROK

    @David

    I believe that a little complaining on this blog is going a long way. I know that my dear friends at Sunbeach must be suffering, so let me give them a mention. This is also for Anthony Gunn who started cariaccess.

    All of a sudden he folded up. Got his investment stranded. Before he passed away, he advised that he had lodged a case in court against C&W for causing his investment to get stranded.

    Did you ever hear Owen say, that he would insure that providers don’t get their investment stranded? Think he was talking about Digicel alone? So why did Anthony get his investment stranded? What, we now have a duopoly, right?

    You think we got it bad? Look at the OECS. Doing the dog.

    You think I got the political clout. I taking your word for it. Let’s see how far I get. BU family, if this works out, you got to thank David, ’cause I had another ploy; collecting the evidence. Very critical, but not very easy.

  44. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @ROK: “Not only that, the page kept refreshing all the time and every time it refreshed itself I lost what I was typing.”

    While I think it’s well known that I’m not prone to defending C&W, it is *very* important to lay blame only to those actually at fault…

    Your above suggests you have a problem with your web browser. This is not the responsibility of C&W.

    Three points of advise:

    1. Just because your virus scanner says you’re not infected, doesn’t mean your not. Modern malware can compromise the virus scanners themselves.

    2. Are you running M$’s Internet Exploder, or Mozilla Firefox. If the former, your are (respectfully) a damn fool.

    3. Rather than compose your messages in the tiny text-field of the blog interface, why not compose your message in a local text-editor, and then cut-and-paste your final text?

    IMHO, if this battle is to be won, it is important to pick the targets accurately.

  45. Tell me Why Avatar
    Tell me Why

    Hamilton Lashley, alias “Columbus” now awake from slumber and realised C & W sending home staff throughout the Caribbean, stating that he was reliably informed. You are reading the blogs and using information as political statements.

  46. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @David: “…we are non[e] the wiser.”

    With respect David, are you none the wiser, or none the more empowered? These are different things.

    Again, not defending C&W, but the issue with “best efforts”, “oversubscribed” xDSL is not local to Barbados. It is a world-wide issue.

    The fundamental issue is the fact that there is little competition here in Barbados for high-speed Internet services.

    And, ironically, what competition is available tends to not be used because it is viewed as “risky”. I can’t (legally) tell you how many people I’ve met with who complain up-and-down about C&W, but then renew their contracts with same because it’s the “safe” choice.

    (As an aside, I *can* say that local companies I advise tend to stick with C&W. Companies from away always go with a competitive provider. This, in my mind, speaks volumes.)

    I am a firm believer in free market dynamics. (IMHO) Only when large numbers of consumers start using competitive offerings will the incumbent’s service quality improve.

    Read: use Freemotion; use TeleBarbados; use Sunbeach; use Blue; use Last Mile Holdings (when they come online).

  47. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    @BU Family…

    I recently made a post on BFP making an offer to any lawyer who had any balls…

    I would like to make the same offer here:

    Quoting myself:

    “I recently put together a very simple spreadsheet based on public knowledge and one single variable based on common industry knowledge. This showed that C&W have overcharged Bajan consumers between approximately 100 million dollars (BDS $100,000,000) and 200 million dollars (BDS $200,000,000) over the last 18 months on a single service.

    “If there are any lawyers out there who might be interested on taking this on, please feel free to contact me via the e-mail address available on my blog’s “contact” page (linked to via my name above.)

    “While I can’t be involved with the suit myself (as I myself have not been harmed), I would be more than happy to share what I (legally) can.

    …now the question at hand is: do we here in Barbados actually have any balls? Or are we simply complainers?

    Please consider this a challenge.

    Kindest regards to all.

  48. Technician Avatar
    Technician

    For years now C&W have been doing as they like to their customers.
    Being an ex employee, I would advise all out there to seek alternative options where ever possible. As I have said often, C&W is not a charity and cares nothing about the local consumers. There only aim is profit for their investors.We the ignorant pubic jumps at their every ad and smile, only to find out later what a sham it is.
    This, however is not only limited to C$W but to almost every big Corporation in this country whether it is selling cars or offering services.
    When I look at the technology available for years and compare it to what we use here, it is so ridiculous that I have to ask myself if we are really a first world country or not.
    Politics, greed and corruption are the main factors that stop us the public from enjoying the comfort and the convenience of most of the technologies available.Until we sort out these issues, companies will continue to take us, the paying consumers for the proverbial ride.

  49. RE Engineer Avatar
    RE Engineer

    The problem is indeed a political one and C&W does do and say what it pleases. I too knew Anthony Gunn and he sent me quite a bit of info about his case and he pointed out some very disturbing things that were said by the representatives of C&W such as they will continue to EXPLOIT the Caribbean market as they see fit and that was a direct quote.

    In terms of other options, Telebarbados is currently seeking commercial customers because that is what their infrastructure and support is based on currently, they are currently trying to work out all the kinks of their systems before they can invest in more staff to expand to the residential market.

    Chris thank you for the tips but it does not seem to be an issue with my router, and please note that these problems not only affect me at home but at work as well and the IT guys here seem to be pretty knowledgeable and on speaking to them they told me that the quality of the internet is not good at all and they really have very little control over that. That some days the service is ok and other it is dismal. The problems I am getting are evidently being seen all over the island, it seems these issues have become so everyday that people don’t even realise until they are asked.

    I do believe we need to get a lot more info about the inner workings of C&W and I do not believe that they are lacking in network capacity at all. Even though I do not profess in the least to be a telecom expert I am well aware of the amount of fiber optic cables they have installed and the capacity of each fiber, if there is a bottle-neck in the system it has to be at the exchanges in terms of transmission over the copper wires, but it seems to me that C&W in their efforts to become more profitable are making no effort to rectify any problems with their service or to even marginally improve even customer technical support. I dare the BU family to call for tech support at any point and see what scruffy treatment you get.

    All I can say is that I will continue to investigate alternatives; my only tie with C&W is internet, because for me it is essential. I know persons say their cell phone service is cheaper but I do not care if it is so or not because once I have an option I refuse to go with C&W, simple as that. I need to do further investigation into the FTC and C&W and see what can be done from a consumer point of view, ’cause complacency is getting us no where. I will also look into the Freemotion service and if it is indeed available in my area and provided the cost is not ridiculous I will be saying goodbye to C&W, breaking my only remaining tie.

  50. David Avatar
    David

    Isn’t this something the consumer organizations can run point on? It is a matter of data collection i.e.list complaints, take responses from C&W, do bandwidth/traffic studies etc.

    While we agree that we can walk away from C&W we also have a duty to demand good service. An efficient C&W as long as it it responsible for playing a key role in our telecommunications policy must shape up.

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