SIR,

Does anyone know what is going on in Penallt with the phone lines?

My phone and internet went off on the 7th February. I reported the fault to BT who looked into it. First they tried to tell me that it was a fault with my own equipment, which it clearly was not since other houses around me were affected.

Since then, they have blamed our lack of connection on Openreach (for not being available to mend the line) and told us that we should be re-connected on around the 14th March.

Oddly, this is about the time when Spectrum (an independent internet provider who is installing broadband to the village) is due to connect. The word in the village is that Spectrum has dug up a cable and knocked out a lot of the village's lines. Further talk on the grapevine is that Openreach won't mend the lines because they were damaged by Spectrum, who should mend them and is refusing to do so.

Whatever the truth of it, there are a lot of families left without phone lines and internet in what is a remote area with little mobile phone coverage.

It is a disgrace that internet and phone providers get away with giving their customers so little information and support.

Ruth Massey

(Penallt)