TOTSCo Provide Update on Progress of UK Broadband ISP Switching Performance
The One Touch Switching Company, which is the industry-led company responsible for helping to deliver Ofcom’s solution for easier and quicker UK switching between home broadband and phone providers on different networks (One Touch Switching), has provided an update on their progress toward refining the OTS solution as it passes 2 million successful switches since launch.
The OTS system, which went live on 12th September 2024, remains a Gaining Provider Led (GPL) process, where the customer contacts their new (“gaining“) ISP to start and manage the process on their behalf. But despite a bit of a bumpy start and some ongoing issues, which we won’t recap today, this has now been widely adopted by the vast majority of ISPs; TOTSCo is now also working to make a similar switching system available to businesses in “early 2026” (here).
The latest update reveals that TOTSCo’s related messaging hub has now processed 2 million switches since its launch, running at a rate of roughly 1.8 million over every 12-months. Hub match rates (switch match success rates) are also trending upwards in the long term, with overall rates up around 10% since go-live, and a record daily figure of 69.7% last week (this is the observed rate – the customer experience will be better as some retries will be successful).
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At the same time, the best observed match rate between two larger users (unamed major broadband ISPs) stands at 83%, which TOTSCo said shows “what can be achieved … these figures are an indication of how the ecosystem is maturing as more providers refine their processes and data“. Take note that Black Friday should be having an impact on the most recent stats via an uptick in switching.
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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If for some reason I had to move from the network I am with now to Openreach (spit), I would not use the one touch switching, I rather keep the network I have got until the other network is up and running. I did that when I went from FTTC to FTTP.
If there is a problem installing the new network, then it is possible that the customer is left without broadband.
Not that I generally agree with the need for OTS in general (‘treating customers fairly’ anyone?), my understand was in fact – switching using OTS is supposed to prevent customers being stuck without broadband, given that the GP instructs the LP when to cut off their service – when the new service is live, so the consumer doesn’t have to spend hours listening to ‘we are experiencing a high volume of calls’ (aka ‘we are understaffed’), and then being sold to with ‘special offers’ by the retentions team.
The gaining provider should not be sending the trigger (completion) command until the new service is up and running.
For it’s many flaws, the OTS system is an improvement in customer experience.. IF the gaining provider is following the process / order flow correctly.
It worked OK for me, mind you going from BT to Plusnet you would expect it to. I would have thought well after a year since it was introduced it should be hitting 90% plus success rate.
Being left without service is the exact problem it solves.
I am on about going from one Network to another, so say from Openreach to an Altnet or to Virgin. It is not the same as going from say BT to Vodafone on the Openreach network. That should go without issue, I say should, but Sky nearly changed me to them from Plusnet because they had the wrong address, only knew when I had an email from Plusnet saying, sorry you are leaving. It was supposed to have been my next door neighbour leaving BT to go to sky.
I think going from one network to another network is more complex and more problems could happen, so I would certainly not stop paying for my old network until I am sure the new one is installed. Not that I have any plans to change unless I move out of the area.
And if there’s a problem the gaining supplier won’t send the “complete” flag. I’m not sure what you’re talking about here. As above, what you’re complaint is, is exactly what OTS does. (eg Altnet other altnet/bt/vm)
@Ad47uk, as others have pointed out, the process exists primarily to make switching between networks easier and as seamless as NOTS. The ‘losing’ provider can not switch off your existing service until the ‘gaining’ provider has confirmed the new service is operational, and unless the customer halts the switch past the point of no return, there is no interupption to inter-network switches.