Read on for Clara's experience – she made a dramatic bill reduction by taking the plunge, and learn everything you need to know about how to switch providers effortlessly.
See how your provider fared in our guide to the'Switching broadband providers saved me £500 a year'
We spoke to Clara Monroy about the huge saving she made by switching providers.
For eight years, Clara had stuck it out with Virgin Media: ‘It wasn’t a case of loyalty – I felt trapped!’ She and her housemates wanted a reliable, high-speed connection that would support them working, streaming, podcasting and gaming. The prospect of switching to a slower service kept them tethered to their old provider: Virgin Media was the only option in the area with speeds of 100Mbps or more.
Things changed when a neighbour told her they’d switched to Hyperoptic. Realising that a high-speed alternative was finally available, Clara decided to make the move too and has no regrets.
The process took 10 days from sign up to the activation of her new connection. Because she changed networks, an engineer visited to install the new cabling into the property and set up her new router. Clara says the downtime between the two connections on the switchover day was between two and three hours.
As well as finding the process straightforward, switching resulted in a whopping saving for Clara – her bill plummeted from £62.28 a month to just £22, despite her speed rising from 100Mbps to 500Mbps.
‘It’s not only the speed that’s better. We used to have to reset our router regularly with Virgin – they sent a new one, but there were still regular dropouts and sluggish speeds. We haven’t touched our new router once.’
If you have a partial fibre connection, it’s certainly worth checking the deals available where you live to see whether full fibre is an option. Some 83% of premises have access to at least one fibre network, and more than a quarter have access to at least two (this is even more common in Northern Ireland).
What happens when you switch broadband provider?
When you start the switch process, you’ll often be asked to fill in an online form giving your name and address. Here’s what happens next:
The whole process will generally take around two weeks from you signing up to being connected with your new provider, although it can take longer if you're moving to a new network infrastructure.
One Touch Switch also minimises the downtime between the two connections. It can be as brief as a few minutes if you're moving between providers on the same network (for example, EE and TalkTalk on the Openreach network). If you're changing networks or upgrading to fibre, the downtime will generally be a little longer – usually from an hour up to eight hours at most.
Ofcom, the telecoms regulator, has put strict rules in place so providers will have to pay compensation if your switch is delayed – a maximum of one working day of downtime is all that's allowed.
Can you save money by switching?
Like Clara, you should check whether infrastructure has changed in your area. You may find you now have more options than you had previously – more providers, a choice between full fibre networks and/or more choice over the speed you take.
Research from Ofcom shows that faster broadband services are becoming more affordable. In many cases, customers can switch to a faster, more reliable full-fibre service and pay the same or less than what they paid for a partial fibre (or slower standard broadband) connection.
Other things you might want to know about switching
When people weigh up switching, their key concerns are typically how complicated the process will be, whether there will be any downtime and whether it will help save money. But there are a few other questions that frequently pop up:
Will I lose my email address?Possibly, if you use the email address provided by the ISP you're leaving. Some providers (for example, Plusnet and TalkTalk) allow you to keep the email address when you are no longer a customer, but they'll expect you to pay a fee. Others won't allow you to keep your email address, so it will be deleted. BT and Sky both currently allow free access to their email services even when you switch away from them (although BT also offers a premium email service for a fee).
What happens with my router?If you use the router supplied by your ISP, you'll be supplied with a new one by your new provider. On your switchover day, you will start using your new router to work with your new connection. Your old provider will ask you to return your old router so it can be recycled or refurbished.
If you use your own third-party router, you should be able to continue using it, as long as it will work with your connection type.
Can I keep my landline?In most cases, yes – when you move providers, you can usually also transfer your existing landline. However, there are some exceptions – some major providers (Plusnet, for example) no longer offer landline services. If a landline is essential to you, check that the service is included when you select a new deal.
You can almost always keep the same landline phone number when you switch broadband providers. When you start your switch, your new provider will ask whether you want to keep your existing phone number and then ask you to provide it. It will then arrange to transfer the landline at the same time as your broadband service.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/what-to-expect-when-you-switch-broadband-provider-aiv520z6UZxO