The broadband market is to say the least…very competitive. And, that’s a good thing for the consumer. But, once people have broadband, they not only tend to stick to the broadband package they have, but also continue to pay the same price for some time. So here is a classic example:-
Lets say Liz got her broadband back in 2003. She signed-up for a package from her phone company for 1 or 2 megabits in speed, it had a broadband usage cap of 5 gigabytes, and she paid twenty odd pounds a month for it. This was considered a good deal back in the day.
Five years on in 2008 and Liz still has the same set-up and package. Is her deal any good, anymore? Errrr the short answer is “No!” and “Liz is being ripped off”.
You see, technology has rattled on at bit since 2003 and prices of broadband have dropped, and the market for speed, pricing and usage limits have been improved for the average user. If Liz were to shop around and have a quick look at ads in the paper or have a look at her broadband company’s homepage, she would probably find that her broadband speed could easily be pushed-up to a maximum of 8 megabits, have a usage cap of at least 40 gigabytes, and pay about £15s a month for it, and with some phone companies including the line-rental in that.
To put in another way, bags more downloads can be done, such as making good use of the BBC iPlayer, getting plenty more speed, and paying less for it each month. Nuff said!
Liz could [in theory, and with a lot of broadband service providers] order her upgrade online from here broadband ISP’s website, without having to speak to anyone on the other side of the world or holding in a queue in an automated system. All she would need is her existing broadband username and password, and to visit the existing user’s area (or words to that affect).
There are some things Liz should probably have a little think over before she does make any changes on her account. These would include:-
- Most likely the ISP will re-sign her up for another 12 months
- Note that the ISP can only offer up to 8 megabits of speed on the line, it’s not guaranteed (have a look at this article for more of an idea about that)
- Her existing modem from the olden days may not be able to take a faster speed, but it is more than likely that she will be offered a better modem for nothing or a little fee, with better security features on
- It’s not up to the broadband provider to regrade Liz over time and price check for her, much in the same way with mobile phone contracts. It’s the customer’s responsibility
- Liz should make sure she reads the package in detail, such as advised speeds, usage limits, new contract length, and any other extras
- Lastly, Liz would be advised that the speed regrade would take a few days to be processed, it wouldn’t be instant.
It’s all rather simple really, but well worth checking up every 18 months or so.
