Switching broadband used to mean calling your old provider to cancel and hoping the new line went live on time. Since 12 September 2024 that has changed. Under Ofcom's One Touch Switch process, the provider you're moving to handles the switch, whichever network either provider uses.
How One Touch Switch works
Ofcom describes it in three steps:
- Contact the new provider. Sign up online or by phone. Give your address and the name of your current provider. Your details are matched against your current provider's records.
- Your current provider tells you what leaving means. It must send you important information, including any charges for leaving early.
- The switch happens. Once the new service is working, the old one should stop automatically. You don't need to call your old provider to cancel.
The switch is set for the date you choose, where that's technically possible.
Which providers it covers
All home broadband and landline providers, on any network. That includes Virgin Media and independent full fibre networks such as Hyperoptic and Community Fibre. Ofcom says more than 300 providers have signed up, and more than 1.6 million people had switched this way by September 2025.
What it costs
Ofcom doesn't set a switching fee. Your current provider must tell you about any charges before you switch. The main one to watch is an early termination charge if you're still in your minimum contract period. Some providers will put money towards those exit fees to win you over, so it's worth asking.
Your old provider can't charge you for a notice period that runs past the date you switch.
How long you could be without broadband
Any loss of service during the switch should not last longer than one working day. If it does, or if an engineer misses a confirmed appointment, your provider must compensate you.
What One Touch Switch doesn't cover
- TV services bundled with your broadband may need cancelling directly with your old provider.
- Email addresses from your old provider (such as an @btinternet.com address) may stop working or start costing money. Check before you switch.
- Doing it yourself: if you cancel with your old provider and arrange a new line separately, the One Touch Switch protections don't apply.
Is it working?
Mostly. Ofcom closed its enforcement programme on switching in June 2026, saying most customers now switch successfully. Some switches still need a second attempt when the address details don't match, so give the new provider your address exactly as it appears on your current bill.
Before you switch
- Check your postcode to see what speeds are actually available on your street, then confirm your exact address with the new provider.
- Find your contract end date. Your provider has to tell you 10 to 40 days before it ends, and once a year after that if you're out of contract.
- Compare the yearly price rise, not just the starting price. Every new contract must state it in pounds and pence. See our guide to price rises.
- You have 14 days to change your mind if you sign up online or by phone.