BT apology for slow superfast internet in Llannefydd

BT has apologised to a customer after his broadband speed was halved when he signed up for a 'superfast' service.

Paul Manning switched to the new fibre optic service after his telephone exchange in Conwy county was upgraded.

But instead of getting advertised speeds of 26Mb/sec - he was left with just 4Mb/sec - half the speed he had using older copper wire technology.

BT said an error in estimating line speeds was made and reinstated Mr Manning's original service.

Mr Manning signed up for the BT Infinity service after the exchange serving the rural village of Llannefydd, near Abergele, was fibre optic enabled.

But almost immediately, internet speeds at his home began to suffer.

"We were suddenly spending longer waiting for pages to load. It felt like we should be pumping a pedal underneath the computer to wind it up like an old fashioned machine," he said.

"It feels as if we've been conned. It's almost like a violation. You're upset because you've bought something in good faith and it's supposed to do what it says on the box. It's supposed to be superfast."

Mr Manning's complaint follows the revelation that seven out of 10 council wards with the slowest download speeds are in Wales.

A spokesman for BT said it appeared Mr Manning lived too far from the telephone exchange to benefit from the high-speed broadband being enjoyed by others in the village.

"As such they should not have been advised that they could order superfast broadband," he added.

"Due to an error on the line checker our advisor placed the order in good faith. When it became clear that we were unable to meet our minimum speed commitment we returned Mr Manning to his original service, offered a gesture of goodwill and reduction in their rental package."

BT has also asked its network arm Openreach to correct the information on internet line speeds for the area.