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| Changing ADSL ISP & MAC numbers |
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| message from John F Kappler on 26 Jun 2005 |
A friend has a broadband account with OneTel which they acquired from
Global.
He wants to change ISP, but OneTel wont (they say Cant) give him a MAC
number for his connection.
Two things arise:
1) Although OneTel aren't a signatory on the OfCom migration
agreement, Global were. So surely there must be a way of persuading
them to do the decent thing?
2) New ISP says if he just cancels with OneTel (which, incidentally,
they, OneTel, seem very keen to have him do everytime he asks for a
MAC number) then BT Wholesale will treat it as a new connection and
the ISP will have to pay BT the standard £50.
Is there any other way he can get his MAC number? We're told he cannot
speak directly to BT Wholesale...
Whilst he was happy with Global, OneTel's attitude has made him
determined to migrate elsewhere but he does strongly object to being
forced to pay another connection charge.
TIA for any help,
JohnK
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| Phil Thompson replied to John F Kappler on 26 Jun 2005 |
depends why they "can't". Is it because they don't do them at all, or
that he is in a 12 month deal or owes them money or something else ?
Phil
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| Peter M replied to John F Kappler on 27 Jun 2005 |
If they won't issue a MAC (Tiscali is another which seems terminally incapable
or simply dimwitted about this problem for customers, and a good reason to be
steered clear of them!) then there really is no option. Talking with BT W is
not going to get far - Freeserve did give me their 0800 number some time back
when FS managed not to cancel ADSL on my line for 3 months, but BT W will get
less and less happy if an end-user calls them. There are many deals where it
is possible to get ADSL service and not be charged the full (or any) fee that
matches the activation cost. Most ISPs which offer this will have a 12 month
minimum contract and that's really not so bad, though some want to be able to
'flit' from one to another ISP (really you are talking about 8+ weeks at each
ISP, it's nothing like dial-up for easy switching!).
Most ISPs have small print to claw back the cost if you do leave, so Pipex or
others might list an 'admin fee' (and while, in the past, Virgin had no setup
fee or exit fee, that has changed quite recently). Plus.Net has a 'you stay,
we pay' policy where the cost of setup is clawed back, but reduces 20% yearly
so it would cost 80% if you cease/migrate during your second year, 60% in the
third year, and so on. I see there's free setup on the 2000 kbps package and
cheap (25.00) setup for the 1000 kbps service, see http://www.dcomms.co.uk/
(see the Home ADSL options) with only 3 month contract, so cheap to get going
and the possibility of migration after that (but *worth contacting them about
their support of MAC issuing* before going any further!!!)
Watch out for V.21 which has a 30 pound fee for the luxury of cloing your a/c
but other ISPs are around with 12 month contracts, and cover the setup during
that first year (Freedom 2 Surf and Pipex are just a couple more to consider).
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| John F Kappler replied to Phil Thompson on 27 Jun 2005 |
Thanks for the replies.
There's no contract issues here, nor owed money. As I said Onetel are
happy to accept his cancellation, they just say he cant have a MAC
number.
JohnK
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| obsidian replied to John F Kappler on 27 Jun 2005 |
As side question what is "MAC" in this context - (not Media Access Control
in Ethernet cards?)
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| Phil Thompson replied to obsidian on 27 Jun 2005 |
Migration Authorisation Code
"permission to leave" plus the necessary database links.
Phil
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| Graham replied to obsidian on 27 Jun 2005 |
Migration Authentication Code
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Archived message: Changing ADSL ISP & MAC numbers (UK Broadband - Cable, ISP, Modems etc.)
