As I have posted, we are working on stuff with BT renumbering and number export (which is going quite well now actually), but in part of the process I got to understand the BT systems a bit better.
For amusement I checked, and the quite distinctive telephone number that we first had when we moved to Bracknell was in the free number pool. We have not had that number for over 20 years now. So, as part of my testing I had a play, renumbered on to a line, and exported to VoIP. It worked!
I think it is quite cool getting a really old phone number back. I found I could get my wife's old house number from when she was a kid, but she was not at all interested. Maybe it is just me. It is not really a "service" we can offer though, sorry.
Anyway, first and only call so far on that number:-
2016-05-27
2016-05-25
ADR and broadband switching
As anyone that follows my blog knows I have some "views" on ADR! I feel like a dark part of my life has come back to haunt me just typing those three letters. I may go and lie down for a bit...
However, apart from a lot of scathing suggestions, I have made one concrete proposal that there should be some sort of on-line service to allow complaints to be registered to an ISP/telco. This would then automate the escalation to ADR, and allow the ombudsman access to the debate and evidence. It would avoid any confusion over whether something is a "formal complaint", the date of complaint, the content of the complaint, and if it has already been resolved or not.
Evidence re ADR (PDF).
The other point of interest is consumer switching. What is crazy is that OFCOM just finished a process of consultation and change to move broadband switching from 5 working days to 10 working days lead time, and gaining provider led. BIS want 7 working days!
Again, I have come up with a concrete proposal - one that avoids the need for a trade off between a long lead time to avoid slamming, and a short lead time for convenience. Simply add a positive confirmation message via losing provider (just as there is a reject via losing provider now) allowing order to move back to earlier completion date (even next day). This solves a lot of problems in one go, even the issue of fixing mistakes.
Evidence re Switching (PDF).
Let's see what they say.
20CN reprieve?
After my last post, the good news is there appears to be a rebate for some of the 20CN bandwidth on 20CN only exchanges. This is BT's wonderfully simple pricing at work! We are reviewing what this works out at exactly, but it looks like it gets a lot closer to breaking even than we expected, for now.
This gives 20CN a bit of a reprieve, at least for a few months.
However, the underlying problem remains that the 20CN is a reducing number of lines and has its own separate back-haul billing. So the end game is the same. Even if you got to as low as £50/Mb/s/month then that last one 8Mb/s 20CN line would cost us over £400/month, and as we reduce to fewer and fewer active 20CN lines, the costs get closer and closer to that level.
So, at some point, probably this year, we have to come up with a solution for how we handle the last 20CN lines. Right now, we'll leave pricing unchanged.
This gives 20CN a bit of a reprieve, at least for a few months.
However, the underlying problem remains that the 20CN is a reducing number of lines and has its own separate back-haul billing. So the end game is the same. Even if you got to as low as £50/Mb/s/month then that last one 8Mb/s 20CN line would cost us over £400/month, and as we reduce to fewer and fewer active 20CN lines, the costs get closer and closer to that level.
So, at some point, probably this year, we have to come up with a solution for how we handle the last 20CN lines. Right now, we'll leave pricing unchanged.
2016-05-24
The 20CN dilemma...
Back at the turn of the century BT were deploying ADSL (broadband) equipment for the first time. Back then the equipment used ADSL version 1, with service profiles allowing 500kb/s, 1Mb/s and 2Mb/s. BT did a good job covering the many exchanges in the country even the smallest and most remote.
Since then, things have changed. 20CN allowed speeds up to 8.128Mb/s sync (7.15Mb/s IP throughput) with BT's "max" product and then came newer technology - BT's 21st Century network with new BRASs in the exchange equipment using ADSL2+. This offered sync speeds of 24Mb/s (21Mb/s IP throughput). The older kit was then called 20CN, and for over a decade BT have been upgrading exchanges to 21CN.
Now we have VDSL (FTTC) which is even faster with equipment in the street cabinet, but the fallback for all those lines not equipped with FTTC, or on direct exchange lines is still ADSL using 20CN or 21CN.
For as long as BT have been upgrading 20CN exchanges to 21CN, we have been moving customers to 21CN (free of charge). Even when BT were dragging their heels, if Talk Talk had kit (which is all 21CN / ADSL2+) we regraded people from 20CN to TT (free of charge). There are even a handful of cases where people can even go from 20CN to FTTC (but not to 21CN or TT).
The problem
The problem is that the upgrading of exchanges is taking a long time, and so there are a lot of very small exchanges with 20CN kit as the only option. The problem is made worse by the fact that BT charge a small fortune for back-haul for 20CN circuits. To put it in to context I could pay a transit provider that will guarantee no packet loss sending packets to thousands of interconnect points around the globe at a rate of under £1/Mb/s/month, but BT charge £138/Mb/s/month to send packets "best efforts" to a few hundred 20CN only telephone exchanges in the UK.
The big issue is that we have now got to the stage, after the latest batch of 20CN to 21CN regrades (which was around 1/3 of our remaining 20CN lines) that 20CN is making a significant loss for us.
We have worked out that on average, what we pay BT for the ADSL line and the bandwidth, is now around £60/month (plus VAT) per 20CN line. We have customers paying only £20/month on our older units tariff, £25/month on Home::1, and as little as £12.20/month where it is an extra line on units tariff. Yes, we do have people paying more for higher usage, but it is clear that overall we are now making a serious loss on the few hundred 20CN lines we have left.
We have to do something...
Abandon 20CN?
One solution is to abandon 20CN lines. For now, I have stopped sell on 20CN circuits, but if we find an alternative solution we may lift that. A simple solution would be to give customers a month's notice that we are ceasing their 20CN service, giving time to migrate to another ISP if they want. Many ISPs have stopped 20CN for the same reason.
This would be simple, but not very nice to customers.
Run 20CN as a non profit?
Another idea we are floating is that we make 20CN non profit - sell at cost price. The idea is that each month we would take the total bandwidth cost divide by number of lines, add the tail cost and advise people that for the following month that would be their price. Even publishing the figures clearly.
This would only cover the back-haul and ADSL line costs we pay to BT, not a share of the BT interconnects, or costs for running our network or transit or staff or anything else, so it would be very much the lowest tangible element of cost and selling as "cost price".
The issue is that it is likely to be around £60/month (plus VAT) per 20CN line now, and that can really only get worse. Obviously when usage drops, as people leave, the cost of back-haul goes down, but so do the number of lines. The end game would be one line left, getting 7.15Mb/s throughput and costing, to allow for 8Mb/s back-haul, £1,104 per month, plus VAT. That would be crazy, but so would us paying that for one customer that pays us £25/month - so a line has to be drawn somewhere.
What should we do?
Which of these ideas make sense, or are there other options? Very keen to hear feedback on this.
Obviously if BT have some sudden plan to update all remaining 20CN only exchanges in one go in a few months, we'd be prepared to wait. I doubt that will happen, sorry.
P.S. Notice..
Whatever we do we have to let end users know in advance, but I am not sure it makes much odds if one month, three months, or six months. At the end of the day, either you are able and prepared to move to another ISP or cease service, or you are not. If you are, you only need 2 weeks notice to migrate so a month gives 2 extra weeks to decide. If you are not, then when you get cut off, or whatever we do, does not make much difference apart from how long we spend losing money. As such, whatever we so, I suspect it will be with a clear calendar month's notice.
2016-05-19
Apple practising bistro mathematics
As James now works in Reading I asked him to pop in to the Apple store for me. They said they replace them now at discounted price, and would have to order one. They said it would be £207.50 and handed him the quote.
Turns out the quote has the rather odd mathematics as shown on the right whereby the price is £207.50 (as advised) but somehow it makes a total amount due of £229.00!
I cannot fathom that at all. Even the Total states £207.50 and £229.00, which is it?
Well, it turns out that it is actually £249.00. Yes, that is what they actually charged the card for the new iPad. James did not notice until he got home.
This sort of mathematics would have made Douglas Adams proud.
2016-05-17
New door, and google image search
But she wanted a new front door, a proper one.
We asked a local firm to quote for a solid wood door, and they came up with a figure and some pictures. It was a tad pricey.
But one of the doors in the pictures looked exactly what Sandra wanted. However, I had a moment of inspiration and did a google image search for the door she liked from the image in the quote.
I found the image they had sent had in fact been lifted from someone else's web site! What a cheek...
I contacted the company that actually made the door, Taylor Made Joinery Ltd, and their quote for the same door was about two thirds of the price. They even had custom leading on the glass done for the windows.
Anyway, they installed it today. Couple of minor snags. Sandra went for the multipoint locking mechanism rather than the electric locks, which is a shame. I have some more ABS lock cylinders coming tomorrow as it comes with cheap locks.
But, overall, it was an exact fit. The fitter did a good job, and properly screwed it in to the brickwork (with screws behind the hinges so no wood plugs in the frame). Interestingly the old double glazing unit was stuck in with expanding foam, and that was it. A good pull would have taken it out of the brickwork altogether!
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