Here's an idea.
NTL should give free dial-up internet access to broadband customers.
Why? I hear you all ask.
Well, when your BB connection is down due to an NTL fault then, as a small way of compensation, you should be allowed to access the internet via their dailup service completely free and unlimited during the BB outage.
To avoid abuse, perhaps just a few days worth of free dialup access per month should be enough to cover most BB outage situations.
They could even use it as a selling point..."Free! You can use dial-up, whenever your BB goes t*ts-up"