It’s always a shame when small businesses, or as Americans call them Mom and Pop companies, go to the wall. And alas, it appears that the ranks of companies who have fallen victim to the credit crunch have now been joined by a UK broadband provider, the ill-fated Prodigy Internet.

Signs that the end could be nigh came with the news that BT has today confirmed that it has “terminated its contract for the provision of BT Wholesale broadband services with Prodigy Internet Limited due to non payment of invoice”.

Happily, the continued excellent performance of rival, similarly sized broadband providers shows that it is still possible to make a splash in a broadband market dominated by telecommunications giants and even ride out the economic downturn. But in order to achieve this, it’s essential that said firms play to their strengths and market their service effectively.

PlusNet, for instance, is thriving by focussing on providing superb customer service with a personal touch. This is something that marks it out from larger companies and has helped it to win a sizeable share of the market. Meanwhile, Be Broadband, although admittedly backed by the mighty O2, has scored by targeting the burgeoning online gaming market.

However, if you fear that your broadband provider isn’t as robust as these two firms and could go the way of Prodigy Internet, we’d recommend keeping a close eye on its performance in months to come.