It is ironic that FTTC is considered by many as a dead end technology but where FTTP is provided the choice of ISPs is very limited (whether that is Virgin FTTP, OpenReach FTTP, IFNL, Gigaclear, B4RN, etc). Many would prefer to have FTTP technology but will complain that the supplier choice is then much more restrictive and in some cases could be quite a bit more expensive than a FTTC solution.

Have they been offered I wonder ?

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

Have they been offered I wonder ?

Sorry, not sure I understand the question?

I was wondering if IFNL have offered their network to provide BT Retails customers service ?

I see. As a wholesaler I am assuming they wouldn't turn down interest from the countries largest ISP but I have no idea to the actual answer to that question. I suspect they would be happy for BT to come on board and resell their wholesale service.

In reply to a post by partial:

Actually "most people" would prefer to be able to choose their provider and pay lower prices as a result. If INFL offer a compelling service there would be no need to lock out AAISP, IDNET and ZEN. The Openreach lockout is the most anti-competitive practice in telecoms today. Virgin are also highly active in this area.

Most people have a choice of energy supplier but very few bother to switch. I suspect that no-one has a choice of water supplier which is perhaps the most important service.

Having single broadband supplier means that you know who to talk to if there are problems and they may well be able to do something about it. The problem with Openreach is that you can't make direct contact if you want to get some issue resolved.

Having single broadband supplier means that you know who to talk to if there are problems and they may well be able to do something about it. The problem with Openreach is that you can't make direct contact if you want to get some issue resolved.

Is that true in the case where the customer has chosen to subscribe to an ISP such as DirectSave. Does IFNL even provide a service or are they exactly the same as Openreach in being solely an infrastructure provider?

I don't know about the ISPs you mention. I have a Gigaclear a/c. If there is an issue I just make contact with them. There is no 3rd party that has to pass on details of any issues that I have to someone else.

Gigaclear appears to be totally different. From what I am seeing IFNL provides and maintains the infrastructure in a similar way to BT with various ISP's then using that infrastructure to provide a service to their customer. I see this as being little different to say Sky or TalkTalk who use OpenReach, the main difference being that few have heard of or had dealings with the ISPs currently providing a retail service over IFNL. It's my understanding that it is Sky and TalkTalk, or possibly even Ofcom, that don't want OpenReach dealing directly with their customers but here I may be totally wrong.

Isn't this all a bit like gas and electricity where the customer deals with their supplier rather than Transco and the other transmission companies that actually deliver the gas or electricity?

>>Does IFNL even provide a service

INFL has a separate company See The Light as their retail offering.