Best Way To Decide on a Broadband Provider

By Ray Lam

Okay so you already have Broadband Internet so why change providers? Well for one thing the chances are that if you've had Broadband for 12-18 months then changing providers can not only save you money but also greatly improve your Broadband speed. To put this into perspective a 1Mb link today cost around the same you paid for just 256k a year ago.

There are various Broadband Service providers in the market. These broadband providers offer a range of attractive plans and services to the end users. Even sometimes, the service provider may offer free access to their services, but in this case, you should be willing to surf the Internet with all the pop-ups enabled. These pop-ups usually show banners and ads from their advertisers. But one should avoid these offers as they may cause serious damage to your PC.

A word of warning though. If you just cancel you're existing service and take out a new broadband contract then you'll end up without Broadband for several days at the least. You wouldn't do this with a mobile phone after all would you?

However Switching Broadband providers is a simple process, as the majority of the main Broadband providers have signed up to a code of practice which is designed to make the process of changing Broadband suppliers as easy as possible.

The process of transfering Broadband providers is very similar to that used in the mobile phone industry whereby numbers are 'ported' between mobile phone operators thus meaning no 'downtime'. With Broadband you are given a code that your new Broadband provider will use to transfer you swiftly. This Broadband transfer code is known as a 'Migration Authority Code' (MAC). Once the MAC code has been transferred between your old Broadband provider and your new provider, then your Broadband service should transfer over without any interruption.

If you do decide to switch Broadband providers you shouldn't cancel your current subscription with your existing Broadband provider. Allow your new provider to do the work for you using the MAC number, this should then result in the automatic termination of your existing provider. (Note: Although this process is 'Automatic' we'd advise checking to ensure that your existing service is terminated. Also you should note that if you transfer suppliers before your exiting Broadband contract has run out you will be liable for any outstanding charges).