I can and did say it. I’m in my late 40s so yeah I remember those ads (just). BT wasted a lot of time and resources. I knew a few people who worked for them, and would often call a senior engineer (I’d never met him) and quiz him about the finer technicalities of the phone network. They’re a dopey company who waste money and rip people off. Back before the internet and before LLU was a thing, they were a monopoly and a fat, lazy one.
I was somewhat jesting, but the Buzby cartoon characters, were fun.
The politics, of very big companies/organisations such as BT, can get quite tricky. Opinions, as to the best solutions, can vary a lot, e.g. along political lines, such as Nationalise vs Privatise vs Split into smaller companies/organisations vs other solutions.
According to public opinions (user reports), when I looked, a number of years ago. BT doesn't do too well, in the customer satisfaction department, for their broadband services.
Even if a person goes back in a time-machine, and at the time and date they go back, they are given full authority, to decide how BT and the UKs phone/internet infrastructure, is to be done. The best course of action(s), are not necessarily obvious. Some people may think (opinions), that they could do a marvelous job of restructuring the situation.
But I suspect, in practice. It is a massive minefield of a task, to handle such a complicated task. Various technologies available at different price points, depending on the year. Huge amounts of per-existing infrastructure. A massive customer base, who will potentially complain, if at any time during the upgrade processes, things don't go to plan.
Then there also is money availability, and what actions or not, the various competitors do or don't do.
On top of that, BT have to cope with various changes of Government / Prime ministers, who may change the rules, regulations, laws, money allocations, and even the requirements, at the drop of a hat.
I bet in practice, it is a very difficult job, running BT, and if you don't get it quite right, the man at the top, could get replaced (sacked) by the board of directors (or government, if nationalised), or shareholders.
It is just so easy to sit on a couch, and criticise various big entities, without really understanding all the intricacies going on.