The results from 410 respondents (polled between Mid-April and May 2011) to our latest monthly survey have revealed that 35.3% of UK respondents feel discouraged from switching ISP because they fear the potential for service downtime (i.e. a period of no internet connectivity).

A further 27.3% were worried that the migration process between ISPs might incur additional charges, such as exit or penalties fees due to leaving a contract too early. Just 12.6% were discouraged because they thought that the process itself would be "too much of a hassle".

Are you familiar with the MAC code ISP migration process?
Yes - 84.6%
No - 15.3%

Do you know what an unbundled (LLU) broadband line is?
Yes - 82.9%
No - 17%

When considering a switch of ISP, which of these would hold you up the most?
Fear of service downtime - 35.3%
Fear of costs (exit fees etc.) - 27.3%
Other - 23.1%
It's too much of a hassle - 12.6%
I'm not sure how to do it - 1.4%

Unfortunately the process of switching ISPs isn't always a smooth one. Sadly a number of telecoms platforms do suffer from issues of technical incompatibility. This can result in higher costs and longer downtime because the normally streamlined MAC process, which is aimed more towards BT based ISPs, might not apply.

In an ideal world consumers would be free to move between ISPs without incurring any charges or downtime, although sadly this is not always the case. Ofcom is known to be working closely with ISPs in the hope of both improving the existing processes and new proposals are expected to be revealed in the near future (further details). At present consumers often won't realise there's even a problem until they try to leave.

Meanwhile, this month's new survey seeks to find out how much our UK readers know about Net Neutrality and how they would react if their internet services were restricted? Vote Here.