Network management Toolkit 
Story: Broadband migration safeguards due this Christmas
Are MAC codes a solution or merely another problem?
When I bought my car, I started off taking it to the dealer for service. Soon, however, I found another dealer with better service and pricing, so I went there. The same holds true with banks - if I don't like my bank's fees, I simply start an account at another bank and call my first bank to let them know that the account is to be cancelled.
Why, then, is it necessary to get a "code" to change my broadband supplier, or even my mobile provider for that matter? It seems that if I simply call my supplier and say I no longer want the service, and another supplier is in the wings to pick up the service, this should be the only thing I need to do.
Certainly there is the issue of down-time, but the new provider should be able to handle any physical (or logical) switchover effective with the date of his new service.
It is simply wrong for the broadband suppliers to unfairly limit the transfers of their customers, MAC codes, or not. But do we really need that additional complexity?
David Brown
Ascot
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