Cristina Luna-Esteban, Ofcom’s Director of Telecoms Consumer Protection Networks & Communications, has recently conveyed dissatisfaction via written communication to renowned UK Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and VMO2. The term of the hour, relative to this matter, is OTS (One Touch Switching) and churches in her capacity, Luna-Esteban emphasised on the dire need for its prompt installation.
The urgency of the situation was depicted by Luna-Esteban through the statement, “Ofcom is very concerned about the repeated delays and the length of time now being taken to finalise an agreed go-live date, which is preventing consumers from realizing the benefits of easier and simpler switching.”
Along the same lines, Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Group Director of Networks & Communications, corresponded with the four ISPs intending to underline the concerns OFCOM is witnessing and to press them to finalize a launch date as soon as possible.
The OTS system, facilitating customers to swap ISPs merely by reaching out to their new provider, was acknowledged and put into action by Ofcom back in 2021. The execution of this at the technical level depicts certain complications, which led Ofcom to initially set a deadline of April 2023.
By mid-2022, ISPs had formed The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) in a combined effort to make this common objective come true. However, it didn’t take much time to realize the enormity of the technical challenge at hand. The proposed deadline got missed, with TOTSCo projecting another year (anticipated to be by March 2024) to wrap up the proceedings.
Circa end of 2023, TOTSCo expressed the inability to meet even the revised deadline, creating an ambiguous scenario without stating any new deadline. This has led to Ofcom’s recent action of penning down the dissatisfaction. The letter also mentions, “Since TOTSCo’s announcement, there is still no clarity from the industry on the OTS go live date, despite OTS being a regulatory requirement since April 2023.”
Despite several hiccups, Ofcom bides time in interfering directly with the procedure. Slight hints were given on “possible enforcement action,” possibly implying certain penalties. However, as of now, Ofcom seemingly allows the ISPs to continue in their pursuit of OTS, abiding by their unclear schedule.
