Inaction on One Touch Switch (OTS) could lead to industry embarrassment, warns Paul Barnett Founding Director at ICUK, one of the 15 Managed Access Providers supporting the software.
He highlights that a large swathe of the industry has yet to seek out a OTS supplier despite its go live date approaching. Initially set for 12th September, Ofcom recently asked wholesalers using the current NOT+ system to maintain use of the platforms for an additional six weeks, representing a slight delay and some more time for communications providers to take action.
He said: “There are many communications providers that should have already acted by finding a software provider, or should be understanding this process more because it's set to impact businesses at some point next year.”
Ofcom unveiled OTS regulations in 2021 and communications providers will be required to exchange switching messages via the TOTSCo industry Hub messaging platform.
ICUK has made the decision to offer this service without any additional charges beyond the standard TOTSCo fees for services within the ICUK network.
Barnett added: "We didn't want to direct our reseller partners to a third-party software solution for OTS and instead, we chose to become the only wholesale provider to develop an in-house solution.
“The ICUK One Touch Switching solution isn’t solely designed for use with ICUK’s services. Customers and services that reside with 3rd party wholesale suppliers, can be uploaded into the ICUK portal for the purpose of One Touch Switching.”