BT denies major ADSL outage

BT has denied that it suffered a massive ADSL outage over the weekend, after problems were reported when a dynamic host began issuing incorrect IP addresses.

As the service doesn't yet have static IP addresses, the system is reliant on Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol servers passing out the right IP address to users.

It is believed that the servers are unable to cope with the increased rate of ADSL installation, which is now more than double previous levels as new subscribers rush to sign up for broadband services.

One user, freelance web developer Michael Cullen, said: "The problems started on Friday when the service started passing out invalid IP addresses."

According to Cullen, BT's helpdesk has been inundated with calls. "The helpdesk told me that they'd been getting complaints all day and there was nothing they could do until the technical issues were sorted out. They even told me that an exchange had fallen over due to the demand."

BTopenworld, and its infrastructure supplier BT Ignite, denied that there had been any problems. However, a member of BTopenworld's helpdesk team admitted that there had been problems over the weekend but would not give any details.

Cullen also said that the helpdesk had admitted to service problems in the past. "The helpdesk seemed genuinely surprised that this was the first problem I'd had with the service," he said.

BT has come under increasing pressure from telecoms watchdog Oftel in recent months to speed up the availability of ADSL services. The weekend problems are certainly not the first suffered by BT's ADSL customers.

Alan Pyne, a director at analysts Schema, said he was concerned that if BT was experiencing problems, it did not bode well for other private companies which want to set up ADSL in BT exchanges when the local loop is unbundled.

"Maybe BT is right to be cautious about opening its doors to other ADSL suppliers in the short term," he said.

First published in Network News

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