TELECOMMUNICATIONS giant BT has been given a broadside over its promises of bringing broadband internet to Holne, Buckfastleigh West and Scorriton.
Holne parish councillor and businessman Richard Copus said that around a year ago the company had encouraged everyone in the parish to go on to broadband.
'Many residents signed up, but what they did not tell people in Holne was that half of the properties in the parish would not be able to get it. 'For a start, a quarter of the lines are dax lines (digital analogue exchange) and no-one on dax lines can get broadband.
'Most of the people who applied for broadband could not get it because they are on dax lines or are too far away from the exchange in Poundsgate,' said Mr Copus.
He added that because of the problems, at its recent meeting Holne Parish Council had written to BT to ask if it could send a representative to one of its meetings to discuss and explain what is going on.
Mr Copus, who runs Richard Copus Estates in Newton Abbot, said on two occasions last autumn he was told by BT that he had been taken off the dax system and should pay his money.
'Twice they told me and twice they sent me boxes.
'I set up my new business in Newton Abbot in January and decided to transfer to a business line in Holne. 'I was assured by BT that they would put me on broadband in two weeks. They sent yet another box and said they had de-daxed me,' he said.
Mr Copus added that he did not pay because he was cynical that he had not been de-daxed and sure enough that proved the case.
A few homes had been connected to broadband, most of those were close to the exchange, while as far as he knew no-one had lost any money through it.
'The biggest problem these days is that you cannot run an office without high speed broadband,' he explained.
In the past, Mr Copus has stood for parliament and he calls the working base in his house 'the Home Office'. 'This whole thing is an absolute mess. We are fed up to the eye teeth with it and we want BT to explain itself at a parish council meeting and say whether we will be able to get Broadband or not,' he said.
BT spokesman Jason Mann said that 99.8 per cent of homes and businesses in Devon could get broadband.
BT was working with partners to find solutions to enable 'the relatively few customers who remain' to get connected.
He said he did not know the origin of the claim that half the parish was not on broadband, but doubted it was information from BT.
BT was prepared to deal with any questions, but he did not know to whom the specific request from Holne Parish Council for a representative to attend its meeting was sent.