In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
a Migration Authorisation Code (MAC) was a 17 to 19-character
unique identifier
A unique identifier (UID) is an identifier that is guaranteed to be unique among all identifiers used for those objects and for a specific purpose. The concept was formalized early in the development of computer science and information systems. ...
code used by
DSL
Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...
customers when they wish to switch
internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
(ISP). A MAC is generated by the actual telecommunication provider (most commonly
BT), identifies the
local loop
In telephony, the local loop (also referred to as the local tail, subscriber line, or in the aggregate as the last mile) is the physical link or circuit that connects from the demarcation point of the customer premises to the edge of the common ...
(telephone line) to be switched, and authorises the provider to switch the customer to the new ISP.
MACs usually begin with "BBIP", "FTIP", "BBDS", or "BBDP", and consist of 4 letters, 7 digits (sometimes up to 9), a slash, 2 letters, 2 digits (this indicates the day in the month the MAC was issued), and 1 final letter. (For example: BBIP87654321/AB12C).
Background
After a request for a MAC it should be provided by the ISP within five working days. MACs are valid for 30 days once issued, providing the customer with the opportunity of switching ISPs within that period. It usually takes around three to ten working days for accounts to be switched over from one ISP to another.
The code was first introduced by
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
and
BT as a voluntary code of practice.
However, as of 14 February 2007, the rule became compulsory (General Condition No. 22: Service Migrations). This meant that if a broadband customer requested a MAC from their ISP then the provider ''must'' supply one free of charge. The rules were implemented in order to ease the process of switching ISPs. Switching customers will usually only lose their Internet connection for up to a few hours during the migration.
As of 20 June 2015 the MAC code is no longer required to enable switching of ISPs. A customer who wishes to change broadband provider now only needs to request the service from the gaining provider.
Reasons for refusal
The grounds on which an ISP may refuse to issue a MAC are:
* The ISP is unable to confirm the identity of the account holder by performing standard checks
* The broadband service contract has already been terminated
* A valid MAC has already been requested and issued by the ISP
* The ISP has already submitted a cease request for the broadband service
* The underlying broadband network communications provider used by the ISP is unable to generate a MAC. In the UK the underlying broadband network communications provider is generally
BT as they own the majority of the telecoms infrastructure.
* If the service is provided over an MPF or "fully unbundled" network (where the ISP provides Broadband, Line Rental and Calls together)
*Ofcom regulations only apply to individuals and businesses with fewer than 15 employees. The MAC request must be made by the end user.
Problems
Some ISPs, such as Pipex were reported to be unwilling to provide MACs even if they have no reasonable grounds for refusal.
On at least one occasion, in a crisis situation, BT set up a help line to enable customers to get their MAC codes directly from BT Wholesale.
See also
*
Transfer secret
An Auth-Code, also known as an EPP code, authorization code, transfer code, or Auth-Info Code, is a generated passcode required to transfer an Internet domain name between domain registrars; the code is intended to indicate that the domain name ow ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
MAC Codes – instructions for obtaining your MAC Code
Broadband
Mobile telecommunications standards
Unique identifiers