The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), which is the industry-led company that is helping to implement Ofcom’s solution for easier and quicker UK consumer switching between broadband and phone providers (One Touch Switching), has revealed more details about its efforts to introduce support for business connections too.
The current OTS system is a largely automated Gaining Provider Led (GPL) process, where the customer contacts their new (“gaining“) ISP to start and manage the process on their behalf. But the new process is, technically, only a requirement for residential customers. Ofcom has previously stated that this is because “business and residential customers can sometimes have different needs when switching and that there is diversity among business which means it may not be appropriate to specify certain rules that would apply to all business customers in the same way as to residential customers.”
The catch in all this is that businesses are still required by Ofcom to follow most of the same rules (i.e. Ofcom simply have not specified what the process should be for business ISPs) and so, in practice, many business providers will end up using OTS, and thus TOTSCo, too. Consequently, TOTSCo is now starting to focus more on the development of a Gaining Provider Led Business (GPLB) Switching Industry Process.
According to a new briefing, which was spotted by Thinkbroadband, the GPLB Steering Group (GPLB SG) within TOTSCo is now “nearing completion” of its work on the new process for providers that might “wish to use it“. This is naturally based on the same foundations that have already been developed for consumers. The first integration testing of all this is currently anticipated for Q2 2025.
TOTSCo Statement
TOTSCo has retained members of its OTS delivery team, both in-house and at our technical partner, Tech Mahindra. They will impact-assess the required changes to the hub and propose to the TOTSCo board a costed plan and delivery timeline. Once approved, these plans will be shared with all stakeholders. This is likely to be in early 2025.
We envisage the path to GPLB Switching go-live will closely follow the OTS path, including onboarding, simulator testing, integration testing and completing industry trials. We are optimistic that users will be able to start integration testing with the TOTSCo GPLB Switching solution in Q2 2025. Please note, this timeline is indicative and non-binding and we will confirm the timeline in early 2025.
The company recently met with a number of larger providers (e.g. BT) to confirm the viability of the programme and those representing a significant combined market share are said to have indicated that they “intend to use and are prepared to fund a TOTSCo solution“, which has given TOTSCo the “confidence to proceed with the GPLB solution” without introducing financial risk.
However, it is noted that some of the Managed Access Providers (MAPs), which represent different groups of providers, are considering a GPLB offering based on a “network of hubs” rather than TOTSCo’s single central hub. But TOTSCo has pledged to engage with these solution-providers as they develop their plans and said they “are open to undertaking additional development work to enable TOTSCo’s solution to interconnect with them.”