An Angus community council is demanding answers over the reliability of the phone line connection in their area.
Members of Kirriemuir Landward West Community Council have raised questions of BT and Openreach over the stability of the communications infrastructure in the Kilry area of Glen Isla after several phone lines and internet connections were lost for weeks at the end of last year.
A number of residents, including community council chairman Roger Clegg, contacted BT to report the issue and it was eventually resolved three weeks after it was first declared.
However, concerns over the infrastructure which provides the service to the area still remain and Mr Clegg said that the company has been slow to respond to the group’s inquiries and on certain occasions has failed to reply at all.
Mr Clegg said: “We’re trying to get someone to come out and tell us what’s going on but service providers tell you to contact Openreach and then Openreach tell you to contact your service provider.
“I eventually got a call from an Openreach engineer but he wasn’t sure what I was wanting and I explained that we were concerned about the infrastructure, maintenance and speeds of repairs, so he said he would get someone else.
“I have since then heard nothing and sent another email. I contacted BT in April again and it was at that point that the line of communication between us and them broke down again.
“We are looking for someone from Openreach, who knows what’s going on, to come out and speak to the council and answer our questions.
“We’ve heard all the things about 4G and improved broadband but for some of us in this area it’s a struggle to even get broadband services at all.
“We know that there are faults from time to time and we are prepared to go along with that providing they tell us what’s going on. The last time we were off for three weeks and some people were off longer that’s just not good enough.”
A spokeswoman for the BT Group confirmed that the initial fault was caused by third party damage and plans were put in place to repair it.
However, numerous complications, including the bad weather, the discovery of asbestos in the piping and the original drainage contractors inadvertently causing more faults, meant that eight lines in the area were affected in total, with the final repair works eventually completed on January 18 2013.
The spokeswoman added: “The area is served from Lintrathen exchange, a very small, rural exchange which is not currently in BT’s commercial upgrade plans and would not have been upgraded for broadband at all were it not for earlier Scottish Government intervention.
“BT is investing £2.5 billion in fibre broadband in the UK but we have always said public sector help would be needed to improve broadband speeds in those communities outside the commercial footprint.
“The Scottish Government is currently holding a public procurement exercise to extend faster broadband services into non-commercial parts of Scotland. BT was selected as the partner in a similar process in the Highlands and Islands and we will compete strongly in the SG process.
“I am sorry that Mr Clegg’s questions were not answered to his satisfaction and hope this goes some way to explaining the situation.
“We are not aware of any outstanding issues in relation to this case but anyone who has continued to experience any difficulties should report these to their service provider, which will liaise with Openreach on their behalf.”