Broadband News
Ofcom called on to make bundle migrations easier
Wednesday, 01 July 2009
Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk
The Communications Consumer Panel has called on Ofcom to make it easier for broadband bundle customers to switch provider.
Under current Ofcom rules, BT Broadband (www.BT.com) based broadband providers - who use BT’s telephone network to deliver their broadband - use the MAC switching process to migrate customers seamlessly from one provider to another, without a break in connection.
| "Ofcom should be working towards a single process to enable consumers who buy bundles of services to switch provider quickly and easily" |
However, increasing numbers of customers are switching broadband to a local loop unbundled (LLU) provider, many of which offer broadband bundle services including home phone and digital TV.
While some LLU providers do accept MAC codes, many customers - especially those with “fully unbundled” lines where both broadband and home phone are provided by the same supplier - find it difficult to switch to new LLU providers, with some people having to pay as much as £122.50 to rejoin the BT network.
The Communications Consumer Panel (CCP) has now called on telecoms regulator Ofcom “to enable consumers who buy bundles of services - such as fixed-line telephone plus broadband - to switch provider more quickly and easily”.
In a letter to Claudio Pollack, Ofcom's director of consumer affairs, Panel Chair Anna Bradley said: “We believe that Ofcom should be working towards a single process to enable consumers who buy bundles of services to switch provider quickly and easily. We would like to see Ofcom develop a strategy to move to a single switching process as soon as possible.”
The CCP also called for a strengthening of Ofcom’s rules designed to protect consumers against fixed-line “mis-selling”.
“Where possible, Ofcom should impose on providers that break the rules financial penalties that have a wider deterrent effect. This would help to raise the level of compliance across the industry,” concluded Bradley.
Michael Phillips, BroadbandChoices.co.uk product director, said: “There are now more than 5.9 million LLU lines in the UK. LLU allows ISPs like TalkTalk Broadband (www.TalkTalk.co.uk) and Tiscali Broadband (www.Tiscali.co.uk) to install their own equipment in the local exchange, bypassing BT and making savings. Providers can then pass these savings onto customers in the form of cheap broadband, and offers like ‘free broadband’ and ‘free line rental’.
“However, Ofcom does need to work on a switching process for bundled customers taking more than one service from their provider so that they can make a seamless switch from one ISP to another, without a break in their connection or any extra costs,” he concluded.
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