A staggering 39% of UK telcos don’t know what one touch switching (OTS) is conceptually, a new study has shown, despite compliance with it coming into effect on 3 April.
OTS is an initiative mandated by Ofcom, where end users will only have to contact their new home broadband provider when changing internet service provider (ISP.
The research – carried out by Vitrifi, a cloud-based software platform for fibre networks and alternative network providers (“altnets”) – of telco decision makers sought to understand the industry’s readiness for the Ofcom one touch switching deadline. Of those surveyed, 80% of telcos admitted to not being ready for the deadline and 39% are currently not doing anything to prepare for the OTS requirement.
The most common factors for not preparing were:
- Their organisation relies too heavily on legacy systems – 28%
- Their organisation does not have the skills or technical capabilities – 18%
- The deadline will not be enforced – 12%
- The organisation does not have the funding or resources for it – 11%
- There are cultural barriers to overcome – 3%
Of organisations preparing for the switch, 28% are implementing a single technical solution to aid in the switch. Meanwhile, 52% are implementing upwards of three services to aid in the move, increasing cost, complexity, and thus extending the lifecycle of internal systems. Composable solutions and services that unify multiple different functions are growing in telco, an industry where tech sprawl is an increasing problem. Despite less than 30% implementing a composable solution, 47% stated that a single integrated platform would assist their organisation in the move to OTS.
Richard Jeffares, CEO of Vitrifi, comments: “The UK’s telco sector has been collectively trying to migrate off legacy OSS/BSS systems, but due to complexity has been challenged with the network and cost economics of the changes required. With the arrival of substantial FTTP investment in the UK, we are about to hit a period of seismic change and OTS is a significant factor, helping to introduce more innovative product optionality that will greatly improve the wider UK broadband customer experience.”
“Vitrifi has acknowledged the importance of the OTS initiative and by implementing these new solutions now, our sector can move past historical legacy provisioning and service assurance methods, creating a flexible and agile toolset for fibre AltNets and end customers in the future.”
