Common Wholesale Platform Makes Progress on One Touch Switch
The Common Wholesale Platform (CWP) and related Common Switching Platform (CSP), which is a non-profit member-owned organisation that helps alternative broadband networks to provide wholesale services to the UK market (ISPs), has hailed successful switching tests with the TOTSCo One Touch Switching (OTS) platform.
The industry-led One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) currently has the complex task of implementing Ofcom’s significantly delayed One Touch Switch (OTS) migration system for broadband ISPs, which after some long delays is currently planned go-live date of Thursday 14th March 2024 (here). The new OTS system must be able to work across multiple different networks, which is no easy task.
By comparison, the CWP was originally started is a collaboration of six altnet fibre broadband companies, including Airband, County Broadband, Glide Business, ITS Technology, NGE Contracting and WightFibre. Suffice to say that members will also need to be able to support OTS via their common approach.
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In that sense it’s good news to see that the CSP/CSP are now reporting successful switching tests between their platform and the TOTSCo OTS simulator.
CWP/CSP Statement
CWP/CSP and TOTSCo accomplished the full suite of tests using the latest test document v0.4.1. This was only released two days before our scheduled testing on Wednesday and both DataPro (CSP’s software provider) and Tech Mahindra team worked together to ensure the upgrades necessary were completed in time.
We are delighted to report that all the mandatory tests were successfully completed by CSP and validated by our colleagues from Tech Mahindra during the OTS test session. Tech Mahindra acknowledged the existing issues and assured their resolution in future simulator iterations or the System Integration Testing platform.
Furthermore, all optional tests in the specification were also effectively completed by CWP/CSP. As a result, we now have ongoing access to the mock server, which has been set up for seamless end-to-end testing with the TOTSCo messaging path.
We also have the option available now to establish with TOTSCo a further mock server, to help us test CWP/CSP RCP member evaluations at the same time while also checking out new API updates for our members. This presents members with the first opportunity in the market to test compliance with OTS.
The real challenge will of course be in ensuring that the entire industry gets up to speed with OTS in time for its tentatively planned launch early next March.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Sounds like good news for the altnet industry. If it does what it says on the tin and allows ISPs to access various altnets through a single wholesale platform then hopefully they will get a bigger takeup and other altnets will join in.
The CWP could get interesting if/when altnets with overlapping coverage join.
Taken long enough and people still have to wait until next year, I would not use it if I switched to another network, I will do the same thing as I did when I changed from FTTC to the alt network I am on now, run both for a few weeks.