Ofcom unveils broadband switching plans, but providers claim it's not so easy Switching broadband providers could be about to become a lot easier if proposals unveiled by Ofcom today are put into place. But even as the plans were announced it's clear there are some providers in the industry that are unhappy with them – citing issues such as data protection and concerns it could lead to people being …
Absolutely. This really sounds like a solution to a problem that no sane person ought to have. If I want to migrate to a new connection type, I want to run them side by side for a short while to make sure I'm not left with nothing. A system that allows the (untested) new suppluer to disconnect my old (tested) connection sounds like the worst way to manage such a switch.
It sounds like the gaining provider will have to manage the termination of the losing provider. I can see this going very pear-shaped. With fibre installs often going wrong (no proper access, unexpected obstacles etc.), it means that the gaining provider will have to manage aborting a cancellation too. It’s just a load of extra work, and for what? It takes away control from the consumer, and knowing how badly organised the providers are, a potential source of problems. I just see this as trying to fix a problem that isn’t really there. It’ll just end up making broadband more expensive.
Not to mention that when your connection goes down so does your VOIP. And if you have been switched from PSTN then you have only a mobile to sort the mess out. And f you live in a dodgy reception area (which includes my part of Inner London) then disaster is a clear option.
Doubly nervous since my parents' electricity supply was switched twice without their consent. And if you haven't consented it resulted in a Kafka situation where they couldn't revoke the consent they hadn't given.
Then there was sorting out new direct debits ...
I can see the benefits of seamless switching between Openreach based services, but in almost all cases switching from OR to another provider, or between other providers means a physical visit to the premises to provide a cable and some sort of terminal equipment. So why try and make that seamless? As a previous commenteer states, the install process is so fraught and fragile and subject to delays, the legacy service may well get disconnected before the new service is available.
the legacy service may well get disconnected before the new service is available.
Happened to us some 15 years ago when moving house. Our buyer contacted BT about a month before the moving date - we can only presume they were switching provider or changing number - and rather than waiting until the actual date, BT disconnected the telephone line within a week, leaving us with no landline in the crucial last weeks of moving house and having to call around solicitors, storage people, friends and families with alternative contact details. Three days later our broadband was also disconnected, and our contract terminated, leaving us without email, and no way - other than via work emails - to contact people and companies electronically.
BT admitted it was a mistake on their part but the only compensation on offer was a free month. We immediately found a new provider for our new home. Demon didn't want to know - it was our problem for letting the phone line go. It was then that I bought a domain name and went 'independent'.
Given that I can count on the fingers of one hand contacts who do /not/ use a gmail or hotmail account, and I can think of only one elderly couple who are /not/ contactable by mobile, I think these days for most people the biggest problem with a short gap in fixed line internet connectivity would be missing Netflix on the lounge TV.
Switching mobile providers isn't "seamless" even with the easy switching system now in place. Switching ISP won't be either.
M.
How will I threaten to leave Virgin Media to make them offer me a reduced price on my current package, throw me in some extras and keep me as a customer if it’s a One Touch Switch???
Probably won’t help Sky customers either for same reasons. Ridiculous idea!
But in all seriousness, it doesn’t make sense when switching between some providers.
OFCOM were set up from day one to skew the free market under the 'false flag' banner of "competition" - that still seems to be the remit. If a newcompany wants to enter the telecoms area it needs to set up a new network and should put its money where its mouth is to go to the financial market for money to invest up front to build all the associated infrastructure - not need to access ANY of the existing installed capability that the incumbents have invested in over decades. Time to shut OFCOM down, its well past its 'sell buy' date - from day one, a complete waste of UK resource, and would save a lot of money in salaries, as well as actually enabling a free market to operate properly.
I know some guys on here use Virgin Fibre and are pretty pleased with it. Some.
I have to, however, say that my experience was very different and it comes as no surprise that they are not keen on anything that makes it easier for a customer to switch.
e.g. I moved to Perth (Scotland) years ago and thought I would take advantage of the Virgin fibre network area in the area. I had been a copper SKY customer previously - and am again. Virgin were fuckin' terrible. Dropouts, throttling all the time, TV didn't work. Phoned them up and told them I was cancelling and was told that I would be liable for they yearly bill (some £400+). Told them to cancel anyway and that they would have to take me to court then and hung up.
Now this was on day 15 of my contract. After some detective work I found that the cooling off period was 28 days and called and spoke to an advisor who told me that I was correct. I still wonder to this day if the previous advisor just didn't know or was trying to keep her stats good.
The impression I was left with is that they are just a bunch of chancers.
Virgin Media's fibre network was acquired through consolidating a lot of smaller regional providers.
It feels based on feedback such as yours that they still suffer from challenges with those various initial networks, making their services a bit of a lottery depending on where you live.
In the midlands I've been on their broadband for over 20 years now, and friends have a similar tenure. We wouldn't even consider switching, nobody else can offer the same connection level (without going the expensive business route). I'm actually toying with upgrading my very stable 380/30 Mbps connection to a gig down (but still only 50 up). It'll cost me an extra £6/month.
Everybody else? 63Mbps 'average speed' is the best they can offer. Yeah. That's not going to cope with my usage.
Yep I suspect you're right. That was an old Cable and Wireless network in Perth. From reading the reg over the years I know some people have no issues with them (like you) but I have never experienced a worse service.
Even transferring emails from my Inbox to folders on webmail was impossible. My client wouldn't even work.
Decided not to renew a domain name with GoDaddy, then a month later decided I wanted it back.
Tried to re-register on Google Domains because they're cheaper but can't because GoDaddy are cyber-squatting the domain for the next 12 months.
GoDaddy are now kindly offering it back to me for a Fee almost TEN TIMES the original annual cost.
I have little time for godaddy. There are better providers, in brief just about anyone else! - but make sure that any other choice is not just a subsidiary of godaddy.
Nevertheless I will offer a defence.
GoDaddy do have a published policy which is something like free recovery for about 3 weeks after expiry, a short window when you can recover for a higher fee, then made available at godaddy's auction service and if not sold after a few weeks, released to the open market. At that point you may be able to register the name just like any other unregistered name - but it's a gamble.
Another way to look at the issue is to consider what happens when a name is allowed to lapse. Some domain names traders use a practice called drop-catching. They scour the list of lapsed names looking to buy those they consider to have resale potential. Take a look at domain name auction websites like sedo and you'll see just how much you might need to pay - then you'll be grateful to godaddy for "only" asking ten times their normal annual rate.
You can paint godaddy's policy in a bad light but it is published policy and many others do something similar. Another view is that they are protecting your interests by allowing a short period to recover from an accidental lapse. You could fail to renew in time, perhaps because you didn't get the renewal reminders - spam filters, or changed email address maybe. In that case you'll probably become aware that your website has disappeared and your emails no longer work. It happens. You get 3 weeks to discover that problem and fix it.
Godaddy are reflecting the policies of ICANN (https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/errp-2013-02-28-en) and Nominet in respect of lapsed names. They are not released to the open market for a length of time after expiry, allowing further opportunity for name recovery by the original owner but at a premium.
Best advice is never to get into that position. Move ALL names to a better provider, probably at a cost saving, making it more affordable to keep names you no longer currently need. Then you may then consider making redundant names available for sale, perhaps through an online domain name auction site or by routing to your own "name for sale" web page. If after a year (which has only cost you a years renewal fee) you've not changed your mind or found a buyer, drop the name.
I feel your pain but the fact remains you dropped the name, nobody has any obligation to reserve it for you in case you change your mind. When you've dropped the name in whose name do you expect it to be registered? It's probably in godaddy's name because if they left it in your name it would appear to be yours, unfortunately it's not, you intentionally dropped it. It is probably in the process godaddy explain, it's past the no penalty renewal option and is in the renew for a large fee stage, next it will go for auction and if it attracts no interest will eventually be released onto the open market.
So now the real issue is what should you do? If you think there's a real chance that someone else will buy the name when GoDaddy put it up for auction and if you really want the name, sorry but your best option is to grit your teeth and pay the [expletive deleted]s. If you think the risk of another buyer (including drop-catchers) emerging is small wait 'till godaddy let it lapse and try to re-purchase.
As regards valuing a name the most valuable names are short, single dictionary words or proper nouns.
Examples from Sedo: book.co.uk $50,000 BookReview.co.uk $5000 ScienceFictonBooks
.co.uk £550 - more words lower value, short single word, premium price. Change to .com and expect at least ten times the valuation (Note that those are only asking prices and seem very optimistic).
In relation to "removing barriers that are preventing people switching providers and getting a better deal", it was stated that "people have been put off from switching due to the complexity of having to contact their current and new provider".
Really? Surely even the snowflakes can cope with that?
This is quite laughable. Mostly people have only two choices - either Virgin or Openreach. Changing from one operator to another on Openreach won't magically change the maintenance cost of the "pipe" - a "better plan" means essentially a race to the bottom - which operator will cut corners more effectively.
They have invented the problem and now coming up with a solution. Keynes strikes again.
I'm on cable so BT would charge to connect a line to my house (although there's fibre to the bottom of the drive) and even a "simple" switch would mean a load of hassle to install replacement terminal devices (router/hub, Tivo or similar). Ongoing like-for-like costs currently look a little less at BT.
I have gripes about Virgin - regular price hikes and a "landline" that just delivers junk calls (I could cancel landline but the way they handle that is to change the "bundle" to one that costs the same but doesn't have landline resulting in little or no saving - and locks me into a new contract). On the other hand service availability is reasonable, broadband is consistently fast and I hear vociferous gripes about BT so on balance maybe "the devil you know".
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