Do Broadband Providers Change Their Spots?

What should you do when a previously worrying broadband has given its broadband and home phone packages a makeover

Even if the company reducing the number on offer and making its deals simpler to understand, as many broadband providers are forced to do, the question remains: does a broadband provider change its spots?

Providers that offer broadband deals which have poor reputations feel the hit in subscriber numbers and profits.

One UK ISP which once boasted one million subscribers now has around 850,000, although its hard to tell how much of that is a direct result of bad publicity and how much is a result of other mistakes that the once great broadband provider made.

Sometimes, changes in packages are superficial and end users see little difference - this is a clear case of a provider changing in some regard but not necessarily changing their spots.

To mix metaphors, underneath they're the same animal.

However, sometimes the provider has decided to hand BT the reins to its LLU broadband operation after years of technical troubles.

This often occurs despite a multi-million pound investment in infrastructure by the provider but it can often mean a more reliable service for the end users who are customers with that certain provider.

In this case, home phone deals are often offered alongside the broadband.

For example, the new broadband packages could offer customers a choice between a broadband and home phone bundled together or just a broadband connection on its own.

Changes may also occur because of mergers and these can often lead to cross-promotions which are really good for consumers.

For example, in the past mobile phone companies have been able to add in discounts to their customers as a result of a merger.

This is often a small reduction in the monthly costs of getting an internet connection but its so worthwhile for the operator that these packages have become some of the UK's cheapest broadband.

Finally, new services could be offered as a result of new hardware on the market. This is the case with the new mobile broadband for iPad deals, for example.

In this case there's no question that old providers won't change their spots just because these are new deals: new prices doesn't mean a change in infrastructure for service or customer service.

This also applies if there is still a fair use policy applicable to the broadband packages that has been a major bone of contention for the provider's broadband users in the past.

However, in this case, check whether it's not totally clear whether other network issues could have been exacerbating the problems.

by: Neil Hawkins

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