Gogglebox star says BT cutting off her landline has made her quality of life ‘go downhill’
A Gogglebox star said her life went ‘downhill’ after BT cut off her landline.
Mary Killen, who appeared on the Channel 4 reality show with husband Giles Wood for 11 years, said her life had gotten worse since BT Openreach upgraded her home phone system to digital.
It claimed that the upgrade was completed ‘without instruction or consent’ and that the landline service was completely removed.
This was followed by constant problems with his new Wi-Fi-based landline, which kept dropping out.
Despite numerous attempts by engineers, problems persisted with calls dropping due to poor connection.
Workers were blamed for problems with the old Wiltshire cottage’s thick walls, even though it had never experienced any problems before.
Don’t write Audiencehe said: ‘For decades I spent happy hours every day lying in bed (like my role model Miss Stitch) organizing errands and romantic partners for friends, piecing together data emerging from long-term conversations over a copper landline.’
He said his matchmaking skills were weakened because he couldn’t talk to his friends on the phone.
BT is introducing ‘Digital Voice’ by overhauling its copper cable network and replacing them with a fully digital system based on broadband routers.
Mary Killen says her life has gotten worse since BT Openreach upgraded her home phone system to digital
Ms Killen appeared on Channel 4 reality show Gogglebox with her husband Giles Wood for 11 years.
The telecommunications giant had aimed to complete the transition by 2025 but postponed the deadline due to security concerns.
In 2022, the rollout was halted during Storm Eunice after customers were unable to call 999 as power outages caused households to lose their internet connection.
BT has offered battery backup units and hybrid phones to customers, but some remote communities remain concerned about disconnection.
Ms Killen also said backup options were only available to those with ‘good mobile coverage’.
He said the old system was ‘not broken’ and questioned why it needed to be fixed.
Ms Killen also expressed concerns about what might happen in the event of a ‘digital blackout’ like the one Donald Trump orchestrated in Venezuela.
He added: ‘Why don’t we retain even the skeleton service of this robust communications system in the expectation that, for example, Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping will shut down our wireless, like Donald Trump shut down the electricity in Caracas when he went to Maduro?
‘Where do we turn for information in the event of a digital outage? Carrier pigeons? ‘Only some of us thought of preserving our analogue radios.’
The reality star argued that communications infrastructure should include both digital and analogue.
BT spokesperson said Telegram: ‘While we are sorry to read about Mary’s experience, we cannot comment on her situation without customer details.
‘We tried to contact Mary but did not hear back. ‘We would encourage him to contact us so we can understand which provider he is working with and whether BT can help.’
