[GLLUG] Broadband/cable provider [OT]

[Christopher Hunter]

On Sat, 2013-02-09 at 18:36 +0000, Phil Dobbin wrote:

> If BT can supply you with Infinity (I'm in Ruislip Manor, so why you
> wouldn't be able to get in N4 is a mystery), it's a worthwhile option to
> consider.

Much of North London has telephonic infrastructure going back almost a
century!  There are cables in and out of the 226 exchange (Canonbury)
that date from 1909!  

As you can probably imagine, many of these cables are in a pretty poor
state of repair, and now that the London Boroughs have cottoned on the
Boris's "road pricing" wheeze, the cost of digging up and replacing
these rotting museum pieces is best described as "prohibitive".  Newham
charge £730 per ½day for a 25m closure on a suburban road (I know - I've
just had to pay for one).  The inner London boroughs charge much
more....

Why am I negative about Freesat?  It's because it's difficult to receive
successfully (they radiate <10% of Sky's output), and they have very
limited and low quality channel choice.  Freesat is just a poor relation
of the terrestrial Freeview "service" - if you want 40 shopping
channels, you're in luck!

There are several foreign satellite services that are receivable in the
UK with a bigger dish, and some of them don't charge for their content.
However, most of the content isn't worth bothering about!  

Rant over!

C.