Later I persuaded my wife to drop our first BT line and replace it with another Videotron connection. This caused her some disruption, of course, but it seemed worth it for the various services and free local calls. We have been disappointed that CWC will not give her the answering service (1571) or last number call back or indeed any of the extras on that second line. They charge for it at their usual rate, however. Their explanation (if that is the right word) is that she has an old Mercury number which does not support those services. They will give her another number that does support those services, but she at least would then lose her free local calls.

Her monthly bill is around £30, plus line rental. Mine, around £5, plus line rental.

I find this all a tad surreal. There is no doubt that the 'world computer' is here in its infancy. The digital medium it is creating will probably pan out to be as important as the phone or motor car were in their day, or the railroad before that. The choice now is to lag or to lead.

Those countries and cultures which adopt and adapt the medium will reap the benefits. At the moment the US, with its widespread free local calls, is dominating Net use in general and commerce in particular.

I feel it's an issue the UK Government should take seriously.

But what is ultra bizarre is the thought of the various Digital Switched Line technologies that the telcos are ready to roll out. Now that all the analogue components in the phone network have been replaced by digital technology, those tired old analogue modems on our PCs can be replaced with digital gear. Your ISP tools up, you tool up. Data transfer rates between you can increase by a couple of orders of magnitude. Heh, heh! When xDSL rolls out over here, later this year, the telcos will be in a good position to hit back very hard at the cable companies.