Original article ISPreview UK:
Ofcom and the rest of the industry will later this week mark the first anniversary of One Touch Switching, which reflects the new system of easier and quicker UK consumer migration between home broadband and phone providers on different networks. But despite OTS making life easier for most people, some problems persist.
The OTS system, which finally went live on 12th September 2024 – after over 17 months of delays (here), 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 unlike the old system, which was primarily geared toward switches on Openreach’s network, the new one expanded that to work across the UK’s increasingly diverse market of alternative networks.
NOTE: Ofcom states that all communications providers switching a UK residential customer’s Internet Access Service and/or Number-based Interpersonal Communications Service, which is provided at a fixed location, are in scope of their OTS rules, and must follow the OTS process.
In order to make this work, the industry established The One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo), which is the organisation responsible for helping to implement Ofcom’s consumer OTS switching solution via a centralised messaging platform (hub). TOTSCo are also developing a separate solution for switching between business connectivity providers (due to go live in early 2026), but that’s another story (here).
The system does work and has already helped around 1.6 million consumers to switch broadband ISP since launch. But one of the biggest remaining challenges has flowed from the difficulty of getting the “matching process” to function properly, which exists to ensure that customer switches are correctly verified before being migrated. This is only successful if all the key data for a switch is correct, otherwise it can be rejected; this still happens quite a bit.
An Ofcom spokesperson told ISPreview:
“Since One Touch Switch came in, it’s never been easier to switch landline or broadband provider. And we’re pleased to see many people are taking advantage of the new process and switching to the provider that’s best for them.
There is, of course, always more that can be done to ensure the experience is as smooth as possible for customers and providers using the service. That’s why we’re continuing to monitor progress closely to ensure industry is tackling any issues swiftly.”
As it stands a total of around 342 brands (e.g. broadband ISPs), alongside various Managed Access Providers (MAPs), are now live on TOTSCo’s production directory and the daily switch match success rate is currently hovering around 67% – 68% (up from c.64% in January 2025). In addition, it should be noted that some failed switches will still get approved later, after corrections are made.
However, since we’re only a few days away from the OTS anniversary, we thought it might be interesting to dig into some of the problems that ISPs are still experiencing with this process. Some of the key ones have been listed below (unordered) and stem from off-the-record feedback from a variety of industry sources.
Problems with the OTS Switchinging Process
1. Some ISPs remain frustrated by the fact that a small number of internet providers are still not fully on-boarded with TOTSCo’s platform and that Ofcom have been slow to tackle this (causing problems for consumers and supportive providers). Customers with such providers may face downtime and other issues when trying to switch.
2. Some gaining providers are not completing the transfer confirmation process properly, which causes problems with billing for the losing provider (i.e. billing remains open) and annoyance for customers. The losing provider typically takes the flak for this, despite it being caused by the gaining provider.
3. Certain specific smaller providers always seem to fail an OTS request from a gaining ISP, often giving all sorts of questionable reasons in response. The suspicion is that they’re doing this not due to a fault, but to stop customers switching away (i.e. making it much harder for them to leave).
4. The current process seems to lack a clear trigger from the gaining provider to tell the losing provider which physical underlying broadband network they are going to put the new customer on. This is important because today’s market is awash with lots of alternative networks, but without this trigger it can be difficult to tell whether the switch is a straight migration or a new service provision – all of which has implications for the correct process to adopt and setup costs etc.
5. Some losing ISPs see gaining providers trigger the OTS process, but then never use it, leaving the switch details open. The gaining provider may later proceed to put orders and not link them. The ISP then of course loses complete tracking and again the losing provider takes the flack, when the gaining provider is the one making the mistakes.
6. One ISP called out a problem with Working Line Takeovers (i.e. where new customers move into a new property and want to takeover the existing line) – in that, they’re losing customers where it’s quite clear that they should have gone through OTS, but there is not a clear method for disputing these cease orders (so they’re not always able to contact the ISP in question as they’re not using the CP to CP tool). In cases like this the ISP needs to be able to report these providers for non-compliance, but they don’t know who they are.
In addition to the above, there are also a number of other issues that exist both inside and outside of the OTS process. For example, when Ofcom launched OTS they also banned notice period charges beyond the switch date for residential customers, which is intended to prevent situations where a customer ends up having to pay for two services at the same time. But a very smaller number of providers claim otherwise and seem to ignore the regulator’s updated rules.
So far as we can tell, most of the problems that remain are either related to issues with the process itself or seem to emanate from a very few specific providers, usually smaller players within the industry (albeit with the odd medium-sized ISP also causing some repeated issues). But it’s clear that the system today is in a much better place than it was when first launched a year ago, even if the edges are still in need of further polish.
Finally, we’ve also gathered a few comments from a mix of different providers across the UK’s broadband market.
Matt Kay, Finance Director, Zen Internet, said:
“We see One Touch Switch as a positive step for consumers. It makes moving between providers simpler, especially from networks not previously covered, and that’s the right thing to do. That said, we’ve seen some ongoing challenges with the matching process, which can add friction for customers.
Like many in the industry, we’ve felt the cost and complexity of implementation at a time when the sector is already managing big changes. And despite the benefits, we’ve not yet seen a dramatic uplift in the number of customers choosing to switch.
Overall, the principle is sound and when it works smoothly it improves the experience. We remain committed to making switching easier and would welcome further improvements across the ecosystem to make that the norm.”
A Hyperoptic spokesperson said:
“In most cases, the switching process is working smoothly and as intended. Customers can move between providers with minimal effort, and with the gaining provider managing the switch, we’ve seen greater customer confidence and a more reassuring onboarding experience — in particular that they won’t be left without broadband.
That said, like any complex industry-wide process, there are occasional exceptions —especially when issues arise from other providers. Resolving these can be challenging, and while the CP-to-CP portal was designed to help, it hasn’t proven as effective in practice as we’d hoped. As a result, we’ve found it necessary to invest additional operational support to proactively manage risks and ensure a consistently smooth experience for customers. We’re continuing to work with industry partners to improve this aspect of the journey.”
An EE spokesperson said:
“We’re very supportive of One Touch Switching and the improved experience it offers our customers. We’re committed to further improving match success rates, working closely with the rest of industry, to bring the benefits of One Touch Switching to as many customers as possible. For the small proportion that can’t be matched, we’ll continue to work hard to ensure moving providers is as easy as possible for them.”
Simon Davies, iDNET’s Director, said:
“In general we are pretty happy with OTS. It would have been much simpler if it had been enacted at the network level rather than the billing level but it is what it is.”
A TalkTalk spokesperson said:
“TalkTalk supports One Touch Switch because it makes it easier for customers to change broadband providers, particularly between different networks. It’s one of the biggest regulatory changes introduced by Ofcom and, as a result, has required major investment from larger and smaller broadband providers to implement. Customers are adapting to changes in the sales journey but we look forward to a collaborative effort from the telecoms industry to further simplify the process for customers and enhance their understanding of the steps required.”
We’d of course welcome any feedback in the comments below from people who have switched ISP this year and how you found the experience.
