It's not known exactly how long one of the world's largest telecommunications companies has been out of action - we can't get to speak to anyone there at the moment 'cos their phones are down.

Nor do we know the scale of the problem, except, when we tapped in random number extensions it came up with the same reply: "This number is temporarily out of order. We are sorry for any convenience."

A BT operator confirmed the line had a fault and another just managed to stop herself saying "there is a prob..."

We've emailed our chums at BT Towers to make sure they're OK and we'll let you know if we get a reply.

Speculation now turns to why BT's phones are down. Perhaps some one is installing ADSL since that always seems to muck up everybody else's line. Or maybe a contractor dug up the road outside rupturing key pipes.

Maybe BT failed to pay its phone bill and cut itself off. Or it's decided to ditch its services altogether and sign up with another phone company. Who knows? And frankly, who cares? ®

The Register

-- Anonymous, January 05, 2001