Ever Changing Goalposts

Question

[Whinge Mode On]
So, bit of background. I live almost exactly 9kms between 2 exchanges so have always struggled with the bandwidth of my ADSL connection.  Maximum ever achieved was 1.6 mb down and 0.448 mb up.  I moved 200 ms from one house to another and hey presto the connection changed to 0.8mb down and fluctuating 0.35-0.448 mb up.  Much dialogue with India identified a fault on the line.  2 Engineer visits and 8 weeks later and numerous phone calls and the line speed dropped to 0.15 - 0.3 mb down and 0.448 mb up !.  Internet kept dropping out and was next to useless when actually stable.
I started to use a 3G wireless dongle which gave me a 2.5mb down and 1 mb up.  I rang BT to cancel my internet as i accepted they could not improve it. 
Concurrently, i received an email from BT informing me that there was work being carried out on the line form the exchange to the sub-station.  Ooooh - so i checked and saw that Infinity was forecast for my area. 
So, i rang BT to inquire - during the telecon the sales person could not provide any details but noted my concern at the connection issues I was getting - I explained that i was considering binning the BT line and reverting to Mobile phone only and Internet through 3G dongle.  I was put in contact with India yet again, but this time i was 'escalated' and spoke to someone who had more information.  They were able to see that the Main exchange was being upgraded to Infinity and that I would be able to get it from September.  They also did a further line check and confirmed there was still a fault on the line - a further engineer visit was arranged and funny old thing, he fixed the issue at the sub-stn.  I saw an immediate increase to 1.6mb down and 0.448 up (this has remained the figures for the last 3 months with no drop outs or issues). 
I went on holiday in August and returned on 2 September whereupon I checked the Infinity stuff and was slightly frustrated to see that whilst the exchange had been upgraded the roll out meant that i could not get Infinity until 31 Dec.  Oh well, I bit my tongue and waited with baited breath.
Doing a weekly check I noted that 31 Dec remained the availability date.......... right up until when I checked yesterday. 
Seems that its now 31 Mar 12.
Now i know technology is difficult and I know that its a large project to implement this new technology, but for ^*)*_)( sake it is not that difficult to to forecast when and where something is happening with some degree of certainty.  And why if it was forecast for 31 Dec for 3 months did they suddenly realise it was not going to happen 14 days before that deadline? and why does that also necessitate a further 3 month delay. 
I know I should be grateful that they are condescending to give me the chance of a half baked connection that may give me a speed which European countries have had for 5 years or more, but its getting ridiculous when the exchange is upgraded and the sub station has as well to be told i will have a 6 month delay from potential available date to the actual uncertain possibility of getting the opportunity of taking up their wonderful offer. 
Perhaps if they stopped wasting money on pathetic adverts and actually spent it on implementing the infrastructure and getting engineers to install it then the customer base would be a tad happier.
[/Whinge Mode Off] 

Answer 1

I know i am one of many experiencing this sort of annoyance, but having struggled to get an internet connection capable of supporting my usage (online gaming - yes i am sad i know ), 2 teenage daughters who think the world will end if they cannot face *(*))0- immediately and at any time of day and a long suffering wife who only wants to do the banking when she needs to............it is galling to get hope only too have it taken away unceremoniously and without explanation on 3 occasions.
A previous experience of the 'system' was when i had a fult on the line which stopped the miniscule ADSL form working - it was fixed, but someone told BT Wholesale (openreach?) that there was a fualt - they made a judegemnt that my distance form the exchange meant i couldnt have ADSL and put a cease on the line.  Thus, 6 weeks after the fix and with a fully functioning internet connection which (bar the fault period) had worked for 18 months, it was removed.  No amount of cajoling, explanation, ranting would get it turned back on because Wholesale had put a block on the line which said "despite and engineers visit, your line is incapable of ADSL".  After numerous letters and emails i was eventually put in telephone contact with a UK based BT manager who read the file........ funny old thing, within 24 hrs my line was re enabled and i enjoyed a further 3 years of stable but small internet capability.
Essentially, BT Wholesale is not subject to the Monopolies Commission as it is not a customer supplier - it only provides to ISPs of which BT is a true customer and treated no different to to any other ISP.
Thus the sole provider of the critical component of any internet connection - namely, the actual Line that carries it - has no comeback form any organization.  Remarkable in todays so called enlighted and litigious environemnt.
Oh well, guess i am back to trusting the incompetence of the project management to actually give a realistic date as opposed to the illegal mis-advertising approach they are.   Telling people availability is on a certain date which causes them to make financial obligations (eg taking out a BT ISP contract of 12 months or more) and then changing the date is why i call foul on their practice.  In any other walk of life it would be subject to recourse action but because they are as they are, then there is no mechanism for a challenge.
Extremely frustrated and annoyed