ВТ and supplier in l-Plate row

ВТ has rubbished suggestions that people should make DIY modifications to their master telephone sockets to improve their broadband speed.

Solwise, an online retailer and manufacturer of home-networking products, suggested that people could simply open up the phone socket and remove the bell-wire, rather than buy BT's solution, the l-Plate, which claims to boost broadband speeds by up to 1.5Mbps.

А ВТ spokesman said that the master telephone socket actually belongs to ВТ, not the homeowner, so tampering with it was illegal.

"We couldn't comment on whether Solwise's instructions would be a successful alternative. The l-Plate has been fully tested and we know it gets results, and it's more convenient than fiddling about in the socket yourself," the ВТ spokesman told Web User.

However, visitors to the Web User site were unimpressed with BT's claim of ownership. "I've paid for [the phone socket], it's on my property and if they're that worried about it, heck, we should charge ВТ rent as well. It's my socket and I'll do what I want with it," said one.

www.bt.com
www.solwise.co.uk