Opinion: UK broadband firms should offer a seven-day switching guarantee

Broadband providers should be forced to offer seven-day switching that guarantees no loss of service.

There are iron-clad rules and regulations around our access to essential services like water, energy and banking that mean we always have access to them.

But I think it’s time we applied those protections to the fourth essential: the internet.

After all, a recent survey by uSwitch shows that fear of being left without internet access is putting broadband customers off average savings of £118 a year.

One in 10 people could save more than £240 a year, but they simply don’t because they are too scared to switch.

That needs to change.

Online essentials

No, hear me out. I am not so addicted to my phone and Netflix that I believe access to Fruit Ninja and every season of Breaking Bad is a human right (although I am closer to that opinion than may be strictly rational).

However, the internet has gone from something fun to something useful and is now something essential.

It’s not just used for entertainment; it’s widely used as a study tool for school children and students.

It’s relied upon by the 25% of Brits who now work from home, or do so at least some of the time. It’s vital if you want to compare prices, find the best deals and benefit from cheaper online energy and banking services.

In short – it’s necessary to most homes.

And users agree with me. A survey carried out by Ofcom back in 2014 showed that access to the internet and to mobile phones are now considered essential by UK households.

Almost six in 10 (57%) regarded personal internet access as an essential and 53% of 16-24 year olds considered web access via a smartphone to be an essential.

What does it mean if they are essential?

If you agree with me – and with the Ofcom-surveyed customers – that internet access is essential then you will no doubt agree that customers need protections to ensure they are not cut off.

Price and service need to be regulated, just as they are for other essentials, to make sure that some form of service is affordable to everyone and that there is limited downtime when customers do switch. Anything less will discourage people from moving to more competitive providers.

The Ofcom survey found that only a minority of people said they had difficulties paying for their communications service.

Of the households that did struggle, three-quarters said they had been careful about spending while managing the cost of their internet and phone, and just under half had been forced to cut back on other purchases in order to pay.

Just a small minority of users – 2% – said they had fallen into debt as a result of the cost of their internet and phone. More worrying was the 7% who said they would like to have broadband but can’t because of the cost.

So, like water and energy and banking, internet providers need to provide a range of services including affordable options to ensure that low-income households can still get online.

And then there needs to be new rules about switching…

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Time for seven-day switching

With energy there’s no disruption to service; a household changes provider and the new deals without the lights going out.

Yes things can go wrong (and things do!) but the household is never left without energy and the onus is on the providers to arrange and carry out the switch.

Switching between energy companies is too low in this country, but can you imagine how much lower it would be if there was a risk of being left without power?!

With current accounts the law has changed to reflect how essential they are and to encourage people to move around.

With a seven-day switching service it has never been easier to move to a more competitive current account, as the new current account provider commits to transferring everything over to your new account – including direct debits and standing orders – within seven working days.

It’s time to recognise that internet access requires the same amount of protection. Currently, changing internet provider is one of the most disheartening household finance jobs there is.

It can be hard to persuade the call centre operative that you genuinely want to leave and it’s rare to simply switch providers smoothly – most households face at least several days without web access and then the difficulties of setting up with a new system.

Many, many readers have contacted me over the years to complain about being left without service for weeks and being forced to constantly chase either their new or old internet service provider, begging them to sort it out.

And that poor service is feeding into a wider malaise. The uSwitch survey shows that 27% of British people have never switched internet provider and 80% felt misled by advertising from the industry.

No wonder we aren’t more willing to move away from poor service providers and rubbish connections if it means being left without internet access while we spend hours on the phone to call centres.

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The solution

Our Government needs to recognise broadband for the essential service that it is and police it accordingly – which means implementing two important changes.

There should be seven-day switching rule, with the new provider responsible for ensuring a smooth handover and penalties where there is a drop in service of more than 24 hours.

There should be affordable packages to ensure that households of every income can afford a decent web connection, including subsidised services for the poorest homes – especially if they have children.

Without this, low-income households will be left at a disadvantage and all consumers will remain stuck with poor service and insufficient competition.

It’s time to treat broadband as the essential service it has become.