How to cancel business internet

1. Find your agreement

Business internet usually comes with a short service order you signed, plus longer terms and conditions on the provider's website. The fee for leaving early is often in the website terms, not the page you signed. Find the service order first: look for the welcome email or the signed order. Then follow any link it gives to the terms, and save a copy as it reads today.

Can't find it? Ask:

2. Check the dates

Look for three things:

1. When the current term ends. One, two and three years are common.
2. Whether it renews on its own. Many renew for another year unless you say otherwise in time.
3. How much notice you have to give, and how.

Comcast Business's current published terms, for example, renew each service order for one year at a time unless written notice of non-renewal is delivered at least 30 days before the term ends. Cancelling before the end takes 30 days' written notice, counted from when Comcast receives it. Your agreement may point to a different version, so check yours.

Work out the last day you can give notice: the day the term ends, minus the notice. Our guide on how to keep track of contract renewals shows how, and the traps to watch for.

3. Work out what leaving early costs

If you're leaving before the term ends, the agreement usually sets a fee. Some charge a set amount for each month left; some charge a share of the monthly bills you'd have paid for the rest of the term. Comcast Business's current terms, for example, charge $35 for each full month left when the monthly charge is $47 or more, and otherwise 75% of the monthly charges for the months left.

Write the number down before you call anyone, so you know whether what you're told matches the agreement.

4. Check for a way out without a fee

• The end of your term. If the term ends soon, notice given in time may cost nothing at all.
• A price increase. Some agreements let you leave without the fee if they raise the price. Comcast Business's current terms give you 30 days from receiving the notice of a change to cancel without termination charges. The notice may be printed on your bill, so read bills closely.
• Moving. Ask whether they serve your new address and can move the service there. Get the answer in writing. If they don't serve it, check what your agreement says before you assume the fee goes away: owners on providers' own forums report being charged it anyway.
• Closing the business. Closing doesn't end the agreement by itself, and owners on providers' forums report being charged the fee when they closed. Ask what they'll do.
• Asking. Whatever the reason, ask whether they'll waive or reduce the fee. The worst they can say is no.

5. Set up the new service before you cancel

Leave the old service running until the new one works. Then move what depends on it:

• Phone numbers. If your business phone lines come with the internet, have the new company move ("port") the numbers before you cancel. The FCC's advice is not to end service with your old company before starting with the new one, and the new company starts the port. Your old company can't refuse to port your number, even if you owe a fee.
• A fixed IP address. If you pay for one, it stays with the old provider. Anything set up to use it, like remote access, security cameras or a door system, will need updating.
• Email addresses from the provider, like name@provider.net, may stop working when the account closes.
• Anything on the line: the alarm system, the card machine, a fax line. Check each one works on the new service.

6. Give notice the way your agreement says

Your agreement's notice rules come first: who it goes to, where, and how. Comcast Business's current terms, for example, name a notices address and an email address, and ask for an email notice to be confirmed by certified mail. If your agreement names a method, use exactly that: a phone call may not count. Keep a copy of everything you send.

Here's a starting point to adapt to what your agreement requires:

7. If you have to call

Some providers will still want you on the phone. You'll often be passed to a retention team, whose job is to keep you.

• If you'd stay for a better price, this is the call where it's offered. Ask what they can do, and get any new price and term in writing before you agree.
• If your mind is made up, say it plainly and repeat it as needed: "I'm not looking for an offer. Please process the cancellation and give me a confirmation number."

Write down the date, the name of the person you spoke to, and the confirmation number.

8. Return the equipment in person, and get a receipt

If your provider has a store that takes equipment back, bring everything in: the modem, the router, any phone adapters, and the power cords. Get a receipt that lists each item. Going in person skips the phone queue for this part, and the receipt is your proof if an unreturned-equipment charge shows up later. If you have to mail it, use their label and keep the tracking number.

Don't skip this. Comcast Business's current terms, for example, let it keep charging the monthly equipment fee until the equipment is returned, and charge the list price for equipment that comes back damaged.

9. Watch the next two bills

Check for charges after your end date, equipment fees, or a fee that doesn't match your agreement. If something's wrong, dispute it with your confirmation number and your equipment receipt. Leave the payment method in place until the final bill is settled, then remove it.

If the fee is large and you think it's wrong, a short meeting with a business attorney can be worth it. This guide isn't legal advice.

Why this happens

Business internet is usually sold on the monthly price. The term, the renewal and the fee for leaving sit in terms on a website nobody opens, and the date that matters arrives a year or three later.

Last reviewed November 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.