The results from 410 respondents to ISPreview.co.uk's latest monthly survey have revealed that 35% of broadband internet subscribers in the UK feel discouraged from switching ISP because they fear the potential for service downtime (i.e. a period of no internet connectivity). A further 27% were worried that the migration process might incur additional charges, such as exit fees or penalties due to leaving a contract too early. Just 13% were discouraged because they thought that the process itself would be "too much of a hassle".

The good news is that 85% claimed to be "familiar" with the Migration Authorisation Code (MAC) process of changing ISP, which involves requesting a special code from your existing provider and then handing it over to the new one. A MAC enables consumers to switch from one broadband provider to another and with only minimal disruption to your internet connection (downtime of just a few hours). However, 17% still had no idea what a MAC code was.

Unfortunately the MAC process doesn't work properly across all providers; those that operate off fully unbundled (LLU) lines or cable operators (e.g. Virgin Media) can cause additional complications and may even result in the customer having to pay an additional activation fee to their new ISP. It's also possible that the customer could experience longer downtime than anticipated, adding further frustration to an already worrisome situation.

"Unfortunately the process of switching ISPs isn't always a smooth one," remarked ISPreview.co.uk's Founder, Mark Jackson. "Sadly a number of telecoms platforms do suffer from issues of technical incompatibility. This can result in higher costs and longer downtime because the normally streamlined MAC process, which is aimed more towards BT based ISPs, might not apply."

"In an ideal world consumers would be free to move between ISPs without incurring any charges or downtime, although sadly this is not always the case. Ofcom is known to be working closely with ISPs in the hope of both improving the existing processes and new proposals are expected to be revealed in the near future. At present consumers often won't realise there's even a problem until they try to leave," concluded Jackson.