MAC no use if you are on LLU

erb

Just been looking at THIS site and it says

If you have an LLU or cable connection you won’t be able to use the MAC migration service to switch provider, although some ISPs are trailing LLU MACs. Instead you’ll have to wait without broadband until your new connection is up and running.

This is the first I knew of it and my ISP service is Local Loop Unbundled so if I switch looks like getting a MAC code won't help and I will be without the internet for a while.

Anybody actually experienced this and can confirm this is the case?

deklan99

That's the case I had migrating from Talktalk who don't issue LLU MACs. Good news is there's a new "Migrations Code Of Practice" going to be published this month and is "designed to be an authoritative guide and reference manual for migrating around the myriad of telephone/broadband products that now exist in the UK." - http://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/3493-march-update-from-telecommunications-adjudicator.html

Should add that we did lose phone + internet for a few days but then again it's not as if they worked properly anyway with TT.
"Simultaneous Provides" which come in to play here are supposed to be improving , so less downtime.

I didn't know about "simultaneous provide" at the time and went ahaed and chose BT to reconnect the voice line then contacted my new ISP, Newnet, who were clued up on how the system should work. Unfortunately since I'd already organised the voice line without mentioning "simultaneous provide", it couldn't be organised retrospectivelyby BT hence the broadband downtime, and just getting through to someone who understood what I wanted was a struggle.

del1001

My understanding is that you should be able to switch from one LLU provider to another if they are both on your local exchange, but if you want to switch back to IPStream then you will have to go through BT.

More info here -
http://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/llu-broadband-migration-and-switching.html

deklan99

Nothing at all to stop you migrating from one LLU provider to another. Depends on the ISPs involved how to go about it though and also if its full LLU or shared LLU where LLU MACs "should" work as long as both gaining + losing ISPs use them.