The short version: pick a plan that actually exists at your Eircode, tell the new retailer you want to switch, and let them cancel the old one when theirs is live. ComReg’s gaining-provider-led process is the law for a like-for-like broadband switch in Ireland — not a courtesy.
Start with the live table on best broadband in Ireland, then the intro-versus-thereafter maths on cheapest broadband in Ireland.
How switching works in Ireland
For years the folklore was: ring the old provider, serve 30 days, sit through a retention script, then hope the new line arrived before the old one died. That is not the process now.
ComReg’s broadband switching rules (the gaining-provider-led process, current as of August 2026) put the work on the company you are moving to. You order, you identify yourself as the account holder, and they coordinate the cease with the company you are leaving. The old service stays up until the new one is active.
| Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| New provider manages the switch | You do not cancel first. Tell the gaining provider you want to switch; they contact the old one. |
| No 30-day notice to the old provider | The old contract ends when the new service starts. You are not serving a month’s notice on the losing retailer. |
| Max one working day of disruption | You can agree a switch date. If something slips, they must update you. Longer than one working day can mean compensation. |
| No double billing | No overlap. Final bill from the old provider; overpayments refunded without you chasing. |
| ETF if you are inside the minimum term | Switching does not wipe an early termination fee. Ask for the figure before you order. See ETFs. |
| End of Contract Notice | Near the end of a fixed term, the current provider must tell you it is ending and how to cancel — plus Best Tariff Advice. |
| Contract Change Notification | A change to contractual conditions (including many price rises) can open a penalty-free exit. See April price rises. |
You need to be the account holder, and you need the name on the bill, the address, the account number and the current provider’s name. Have the latest bill or app screenshot to hand. If the new order is a second connection you want to keep alongside the old one, say so explicitly — otherwise they will treat it as a switch and cease the first line when the new one lights up.
When to switch — and when not to
The mechanically easiest day to switch is not always the cheapest. The fee, the thereafter price and any April letter decide it.
| Switch when | Hold off when |
|---|---|
| The End of Contract Notice has landed, or you are already out of contract and paying the thereafter rate. | You are deep inside a 12- or 24-month term and the ETF is larger than a year of savings on the new deal. |
| A Contract Change Notification gives you a penalty-free exit — including many April price-rise letters. | You have not confirmed the technology at the Eircode (Open Eir FTTH vs FTTC copper, SIRO, NBI, Virgin cable). |
| You are out of contract and an automatic annual rise is about to hit. | You are moving house — that is a new connection at a new address, not a switch. Use moving house broadband. |
| A new network has arrived (NBI pole, SIRO, Virgin cabinet) and the current line is FTTC, 5G or satellite. | You only want a retention discount. Ask the current provider after you have a real quote — then compare both, ETF included. |
| The intro-versus-thereafter maths on the new plan beats staying, even after any ETF. | The “fibre” quote is last-stretch copper, or the retailer does not sell the wholesale network that actually passes the door. |
| You are on a rolling monthly 5G or wireless plan with no minimum term worth protecting. | A TV or mobile bundle would be stranded. Check whether those products survive a broadband cease, and on what terms. |
If the house can take several retailers on the same wholesale socket, you are comparing contracts, not cables. That is the usual Open Eir FTTH story — Sky, Eir, Vodafone, Pure Telecom and others selling the same poles. The ranking and the cheapest-in-Ireland page exist to stop you picking the logo instead of the bill.
How to switch, step by step
- Check whether you are still in a minimum term. Look up the start date, the 12- or 24-month term, and any End of Contract Notice or Contract Change Notification already in the post or email. If you are inside the term, ask the current provider for the early termination fee in writing before you order anything else.
- Confirm what the Eircode can actually get. Irish broadband is local. Open Eir, SIRO, NBI, Virgin cable, 5G and satellite each cover different doors. Check the address before you fall for a national ad — find broadband for your Eircode, then the best broadband in Ireland ranking.
- Compare the full year, not the teaser. Stack introductory price, thereafter price, setup fees and any built-in April rise. A cheap first year that jumps to €70 is not a bargain if you will still be there in month 13. Work the numbers on cheapest broadband in Ireland.
- Order with the new provider and say you want to switch. You must be the account holder. Give your name, address, current provider and account number. They contact the old provider and manage the switch. You do not cancel first, and you do not give 30 days’ notice.
- Agree a switch date and keep the old service until then. The old contract stays live until the new service is active. Disruption must not exceed one working day. There should be no overlap and no double billing.
- On the day: confirm it works, then sort the leftovers. Check the new connection, return the old router and any set-top boxes, and read the final bill. You still have 14 days to cool off on a distance contract if the new service is not what was sold.
| Have ready | Why they ask |
|---|---|
| Account-holder name and the service address | Only the person on the bill can authorise a cease. |
| Current provider and account number | So the gaining provider can identify the line to switch. |
| Eircode | Availability is by door, not by county. |
| End of Contract Notice, Best Tariff Advice, or Contract Change Notification (if you have one) | Dates the switch, and flags a penalty-free window. |
| ETF quote in writing, if you are inside the term | So the new deal is judged on real money, not the teaser. |
Early termination fees
An early termination fee is not a punishment for using ComReg’s switch process. It is the charge your current contract sets for leaving before the minimum term is up. Typical Irish broadband terms are 12 or 24 months. The amount is usually a remaining-months calculation in the small print — not a round “€300 because we said so,” though it can still hurt.
Switching does not cancel the ETF. The new provider will still run the switch; the old provider will still put the fee on the final bill. The two common ways it goes to zero are: you wait until the minimum term is over, or a Contract Change Notification lets you leave penalty-free because you do not accept the change.
| Situation | Do you pay an ETF? |
|---|---|
| Outside the minimum term (or never had one — some 5G and wireless plans) | No ETF for leaving. You can switch any time under the ComReg process. |
| Inside 12- or 24-month term, no Contract Change Notification | Yes, if the contract says so. Get the figure in writing; add it to year one of the new plan. |
| Contract Change Notification you do not accept | Often no — that notice can open a penalty-free exit. Read the letter; the window is dated. |
| You cancel a brand-new order inside 14 days | Cooling-off on the new contract. It does not erase an ETF already triggered on the old one. |
Do the arithmetic. An ETF of four months at €40 is €160. If the new intro saves you €15 a month, that fee takes the best part of a year to earn back — and only if you do not then sit on a high thereafter price. The honest comparison is on cheapest broadband in Ireland; the fee mechanics are on early termination fees.
The 14-day cooling-off period
Broadband bought at a distance — website, app or phone — carries a 14-day cooling-off right under Irish consumer law. That is separate from ComReg’s switch rules. It is your chance to undo the new contract if the speed, the install or the small print is not what was sold.
- Tell the new provider you are cancelling within 14 days of concluding the contract (the confirmation email is the usual clock-start).
- If the service has already been installed or used, they may charge a reasonable amount for what you consumed.
- Return their router and any other kit. Lost or damaged equipment is often billed at a replacement rate that dwarfs a month’s broadband.
- Cooling-off does not waive an ETF on the old provider if you already left that contract inside its minimum term. Sequence matters: do not burn the old term until you are sure the new line is the right one — which is why the switch process keeps the old service up until the new one is live.
Fourteen days is the statutory floor most Irish retailers quote. Some offers advertise a longer “satisfaction” window; treat that as extra, not a substitute for reading the order summary.
End of Contract Notice (and Best Tariff Advice)
If you are on a fixed term, the current provider must tell you the minimum term is coming to an end and how to cancel. That letter or email is the End of Contract Notice. They should also send Best Tariff Advice — the best tariff, plan or bundle they think fits you — before the term ends, and at least once a year after that.
The line does not die when the term ends. It rolls on. What usually changes is the price: the introductory teaser gives way to the thereafter rate. That is the expensive default in Irish broadband, and it is why the End of Contract Notice is the reminder to shop, not a reason to do nothing.
Use their Best Tariff Advice as one quote, not the answer. The same Open Eir, SIRO or NBI socket is often cheaper from another retailer in year one and year two. Compare it against the best broadband in Ireland ranking before you re-sign a fresh 12 or 24 months with the incumbent.
Contract Change Notification — penalty-free exit
When a provider changes contractual conditions, it must send a Contract Change Notification. If you do not accept the change, that notice can open a penalty-free exit even while you are inside a minimum term. This is the main lawful way to leave early without an ETF.
Price rises are the version most households actually see. From April 2027 Eir has said broadband will rise by a flat €4 each April. In-contract customers should get a Contract Change Notification; if you will not wear the hike, that is the window to switch under ComReg rules without paying the leftover months. The dates, the letter and the maths are in April price rises.
Read the notice. The exit window is dated. Silence is usually treated as acceptance, and once it closes you are back to a normal ETF if you still want to leave.
What happens on switch day
You should already have a date. On that day the new provider confirms the service is working and tells the old provider to cease. Your old broadband contract ends then — not a month later — which is why there is no double billing.
- Same wholesale fibre, new retailer. Often a remote switch: new PPPoE or DHCP details, sometimes a new router in the post. Keep the old kit until the new login works.
- New physical network. Virgin cabinet, first-time NBI, SIRO where you only had copper, a 5G indoor unit, a Starlink dish. That is an install. The ComReg “one working day” cap is about disruption around the cease, not a promise that an engineer visit is instant. Book the install, then let them cease the old line on activation.
- Landline number. You can usually keep it if you still want it. Full-fibre and cable plans often do not require a landline at all; see do I need a landline?
- TV and mobile extras. A broadband switch ceases the broadband. Sky TV, Virgin TV, mobile SIM discounts and “free” Prime-style add-ons live on their own terms. Check what survives before you assume the whole bundle moves.
Return the old router, power supplies and any set-top boxes with the labels they gave you. Photograph the package. Unreturned kit is a favourite final-bill surprise, and it is unrelated to ComReg’s no-double-billing rule.
If the switch goes wrong
If you are offline for more than one working day, or the switch is delayed without a good reason, you may be entitled to compensation. Every provider must publish its compensation scheme and how to claim. Keep the order confirmation, the agreed date and any “sorry, slip” texts.
ComReg publishes the consumer-facing switching rules and a complaints path if the two retailers stall. This page is general information for Ireland, not a substitute for the letter in your hand or the terms you clicked. If the numbers on a quote disagree with what we show on a ranking, trust the live checkout — prices move, and every page here is dated August 2026.
Next
- Best broadband in Ireland — the ranking to pick a retailer once you know the network at the door.
- Cheapest broadband in Ireland — intro versus year-two cost, honestly.
- April price rises — Contract Change Notices, Eir’s €4, penalty-free exit.
- Early termination fees — what leaving early actually costs.
- Find broadband for your Eircode — availability before brand.
