BRITISH Telecom has defended the slow spread of broadband Internet access across Kent after signing a deal to wire up schools, firms and residents. The company has come under fire for failing to "enable" all its exchanges and leaving pockets of the county, especially rural areas but some urban ones too, without access to this faster Internet service.

Pierre Danon, BT retail's chief executive, said in County Hall, Maidstone, that investment in broadband with no guaranteed demand had been a "financial disaster". Enabling a number of exchanges around the country had brought little or no return.

He urged people in a community or with a shared interest to band together to convince BT of the need to invest in a particular exchange. BT needs between 300 and 450 potential customers per exchange. People could register their interest on bt.com. But so far, interest was only 15 per cent of what was needed.

Some 36 exchanges in Kent are "enabled" but 78 are not. Until local people showed sufficient demand, BT would not enable them, Mr Danon said. "We are nervous about putting infrastructure in the ground for the sake of it," he said.

"We have done that and it doesn't work. It has to be demand-led almost all the time. You have to put infrastructure with demand, create momentum and then you can take more risks."

But Mr Danon said its deal with Kent County Council would speed up the take-up of broadband across the county. BT will be investing £10 million over the next few years in a scheme aimed at putting pupils, teachers, business people and local residents in the fast lane of hi-tech communications.

KCC hopes it will boost learning at a time when skill shortages are becoming a real source of concern. It will also improve links between home and school. For example, pupils missing a lesson could see a webcast at home.

KCC leader Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said: "With 600 schools in Kent, we thought that one of the ways to transform learning is through broadband and e-learning. We see schools and learning as the first thing we want to take forward. Broadband is the future in terms of faster computer links and giving Kent children a head start in research and learning back-up.

"We think this is a real partnership of trust, one of shared ambition for the county and one which has mutual benefit for BT the county council and, most importantly, Kent residents."