Sorry cyclists. This entry fits 100% into the category of ‘Nothing to do with cycling’ but I think the idea merits some greater exposure. Impress me with a link! I was just watching the regional news from South Today. They reported that in the Oxfordshire Village of Chalford (or Chalsomething) copper cables belong to BT had been stolen and that residents would be without phone and Internet communication for a few days while the cables, with a scrap value of £20,000 were being replaced. Those are the facts. The report didn’t say that the copper was being replaced by copper and it would seem logical that if BT have to replace any cables they will put fibre optic ones down instead. The knock-on effect of this enforced upgrade of the cables will no doubt be better Internet access, perhaps even broadband. Even if it isn’t, it’s a step in the right direction. So, instead of BT waiting for their cables to be stolen, why don’t they flog them off. Surely the scrap value of the copper will then pay for replacement fibre optic cables enabling fast broadband to be rolled out even to the remotest of remote villages. BT win & the customers win (and they can stop grumbling about having poor access to the web even though my sympathy is somewhat limited as there are ups and downs wherever you live; where, for example are my green fields & cows in the centre of Reading, surely I have a right to them despite living at the heart of an urban area, no?). The only losers, in many senses, are the thieving bastards who are taking the copper in the first place. Problem solved. Simples!