"On the central crucial questions - the state of the economy, the competitiveness of Britain in the world markets, the level of inflation - I'm afraid the record is not good," said David Marquand, a professor of politics at the University of Salford.
'We're not talking about the traditional video-on-demand type stuff,' says John Edwards, Nynex's regional director in Salford.
The buildings, built in 1968 and containing 492 apartments, had become a haven for criminals and the local authority in Salford, 165 miles northwest of London, said it would be less expensive to start anew.
Birmingham and Greater Nottingham are also among the most difficult Tec areas, while there is another cluster of four blackspots in Greater London. The Salford analysis of how things are changing presents an even bleaker picture.
The network is being extended to Salford Quays and Trafford Park in the west, and will reach the proposed Olympic sites in east Manchester well before 2000.
A man survived a 200ft plunge from the 22nd floor of a tower block in Salford, Greater Manchester, when a Nissan Micra car broke his fall.
'It is in an appalling mess,' says Mr Jonathan Aylen, a lecturer in economics and steel industry specialist at Britain's Salford University.
He was speaking after presenting the John Lennon songwriting awards to three students at Salford College of Technology near Manchester, the day after what would have been Lennon's 50th birthday.