Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Hi,

Just interested in the current state of the NTL cable network, is there much investment going into it and if not how overloaded is it becoming?

I'm noticing more and more people having problems with connections, slow pings etc etc.

What bothers me the most is that the last NTL engineer that visited my house said that not much general maintenance is being done on the network because most of the engineers are dealing with house calls.

He even went as far as saying that in Leicester at least many of the problems are resulting from the need to install new fibre.

Any NTL engineers out there, what are your views on this?

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Business needs is a quick answer. If they are flooded with service work, then that has to be sorted out first.

The Network is being well maintained in most areas, ones that I know of anyway. There is a big push on at the moment with the up and coming Video On Demand project. With this, the Network has to be aligned and in good order, otherwise there will be major problems.

So although there has been a slight neglect to the Network in some areas, with the onset of VOD, the Network is getting a thorough going through whilst setting up commences

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Agree 100%

The area i cover is about to be hit hard for Vod, So hopefully any small problems we have will be dealt with.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

what exactly is vod? can you explain this for the thickies?... :)

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

I knew it !!!
Leicestershire is dooomed !!!
Its a wonder I stay with NTL.

They arent even bothered about the huge hole full of concrete, water, and leaves thats caved in a couple of streets down the road.


I know there are some people who work for NTL that put in a lot of effort and I respect these people, but honestly, the other half of those people really are complete fools.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Try this :)

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/sh...&highlight=vod

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

:) does that mean they want people to trial this Vod what about ( Voip) more than willing to help.
Any chance of getting NTL to test Voip often talk to others over the net using Skype. Could you connect to others that have BT Voip :D the things I could test......

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Sorry have no dates yet. I am sure they will ask when the time comes :)

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Does this have anything to do with the video streaming thingie the BBC said they were working on with ISPs ?

Weeb

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

:) Yep

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Of course Leicestershire is not doomed - it exists to maintain a free flow traffic jam bypass area between the M6 and the M42.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

I only want to know about the A46, ok ;) :D

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Its the Old Roman Fosse Way and bisects Leics in a Sw/Ne orientation, the southern part forming the alignment for the M69.

Next......

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

- when are you visiting next, if ever ?

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Yes it is going down the pan my mates who are in Ntl said to me that they had a meeting the other day and the question was why are the Net tecs not looking after the network and only doing trouble calls .
The Answer was we decide on whats happing and ntl can afford to lose 80,000 customers so stop moaning....

Just to prove what kind of people ntl really are..........


Homer

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

That isn't representative of the entire company.

The f***wit who came out with that needs a P45 to be honest, I wouldn't let him manage me going to the bathroom after a Vindaloo and ten pints.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

I am afriad I would take that remark with a pinch of salt!

No company can afford to lose 80,000 customers to do so would reduce the fat cats yearly bonuses and that wouldn't go down well.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

I know we will never see eye to eye, but the contents of that post are a fairly representative feeling of the majority of ntl employees working on or closely associated with the networks.

You would have to dig deep to find any network technician who would say things are good in networks and agree that the present callcentre biased management are steering the company in the right direction for long term survival.

One manager from a corporate department recently summed it up when he said "ntl is nothing more than a call centre company these days"

You will find that most of the managers and supervisors in networks just nod their heads and do as they are told, they know very bad decisions are being made but they have mortgages and bills to pay, so why rock the boat!

The network guys in the local region are saying they are under pressure to fix network faults in some instances after they have completed their days service calls, they are under pressure to get the network running as quickly as possible when it's down. Getting it running again in the shortest time is understandable, but sometimes it involves a bodge, fudge, temporary fix...whatever you want to call it. They say fault control will not allocate them time to go back and complete a permanent solution to the problem.

I am not being all doom and gloom, just saying if ntl continue with the current mentality the company will get into a very bad state in the future.
I guess you can laugh if i make parallels with the old Rediffusion company, but they had big networks and spent the minimum on them, instead they invested the money in buying other companies. The lack of maintenance after a number of years soon turned into a dinasour that would cost as much to put right as starting form scratch again.

The best way to tell how employees feel about things is go along to the pub with them, after a few pints most people open up and are not afraid to hide behind bulls**t anymore, most managers are not excluded from this either.

Anyone not working in ntl networks who thinks things are not very bad with a very low morale countrywide, are very much mistaken or wearing blinkers.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Well, you know what I do and that I have a view of it all that's as good as anyone's. You're preaching to the converted.

Whoever said the above is a bloody disgrace. We should value each and every customer as much as possible, no bloody need for callous BS like that, and the idiot who said it doesn't even deserve discussion. The fact he's a manager at all astonishes me, he probably couldn't do his normal job through being an incompetent t**t and was pushed somewhere else as firing him would be messy.

Utter, utter prat. Customer focus for God's sake. Should be the first thing in each and every associate's mind, looking after customers where absolutely possible. :mad:

Is ********* like that that give the rest of us a bad name.

EDIT: and reeeeelax :angel:

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Way to go m8 i think you need a :beer: now

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Reading back through my post, I just hope it didn't come across as I was agreeing with what the guy said to a customer.

When I was working for ntl, I never posted on any site related to ntl discussions because I would of found it difficult to keep my mouth shut.
(not hard to believe I know)

I never made any negative remarks about ntl to any customers that I met, I bit my tongue as it would of been very unprofessional for me to do otherwise.

I do understand the guys who are not happy saying nothing, and I suppose people are only human and caught at the wrong time the ntl employee possibly said exactly what he personally felt.

No excuse though, and no argument from me on that one.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Already on it Bill :)

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

They're not even that! They've outsourced the Tech Support call centres, and I wouldn't be surprised if CMCs and FMCs go the same way before long.

Re: Is the NTL cable network going down the pan?
 

Back to the topic. ;)
My connection has never been as good as it was before the upgrade.
i used to get throught to tech support dead easy for the last 2yrs, but the last few times i have been able to watch a considerable amount of tele before hearing a human voice.
I'm sure most of the ntl guys are doing their best, but at the end of the day its budget v manpower,divided by equipment, times hours in the day. :(
I'm self employed and deal with a lot of companies on a 1 to 1 basis and in ntl's defence they are nowhere near the worst.