As the clock strikes midnight, the one One Touch Switching (OTS) system will go live and all UK retail consumer broadband providers should be set up to process the transfer of services as of 12 September 2024. The new system is designed to simplify the consumer switching experience.
We have outlined the full process in our guide here and it can be summarised by the following process:
(click on the diagram for full size version)
The system has been marred with delay after delay and we are hearing multiple reports that many providers are not fully set up and testing, leaving Ofcom in a tough position. We shall see if Ofcom displays its teeth in enforcing the regulations.
Only last week, Ofcom realised that the ramp-up testing wasn’t providing sufficient volumes to be confident in the system, so it asked providers to keep the old ‘Notice of Transfer’ process in place as a backup for another six weeks whilst increasing volumes of transfers in the new OTS system.
The latest statistics by TOTSCo show that 1,747 switch orders were submitted yesterday on the platform and 257 completed switches have taken place. It is worth noting that there may currently be a significant delay in the transfer so the ratio may not be reflective of the ‘success’ ratio. This is a steady increase, however we expect it’s a fraction of the number of switches which should be going through the system tomorrow if everything is going perfectly.
We’re attending a couple of sessions tomorrow at Connected Britain to hear on updates on the rollout of the OTS system. Hopefully, they will show successful switches hitting the system.
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