The boss of full fibre broadband operator Netomnia and ISP YouFibre, Jeremy Chelot, has today been voted as the Network Representative for the Board of the One Touch Switching Company, which is responsible for implementing Ofcom’s OTS (One Touch Switch) solution for faster consumer switching between UK ISPs.
The TOTSCo board currently comprises nine directors, with six drawn from the industry and elected by its members, and three independent directors, including the Chairman, nominated by the board. The company’s CEO, Paul Bradbury, also attends all board meetings.
Gita Sorensen of GOS Consulting and INCA previously represented “New infrastructure providers” (i.e. mostly representing alternative networks) on the Board. But we’ve just had it confirmed that outspoken CEO Jeremy Chelot has this afternoon been voted in to replace her as network representative.
TOTSCo recently announced that it would next aim for the new switching system to go live on 12th September 2024 (here), which comes after it suffered several delays that have frustrated consumers, Ofcom and many smaller network operators. Ofcom has previously singled out BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk and Virgin Media (VMO2) for not being able to complete the necessary trials in time for the previous go-live date (14th March 2024).
In theory, OTS should expand the existing Gaining Provider Led (GPL) migration system to work across separate networks (the old system was mostly focused on Openreach based ISPs) and to action switches within just one day instead of ten “where technically possible“. Suffice to say, this would make the market much easier for consumers to navigate, but it’s also a nightmarishly difficult thing to organise and implement.