Ofcom's One Touch Switch expanded to boost broadband competition across networks

Ofcom, the UK's digital regulator, has expanded its One Touch Switch rules for broadband and phone companies. This allows customers to switch providers more easily, giving a big boost to competition in those sectors, which could lead to lower prices for consumers. One Touch Switch allows customers to contact the provider they want to move to, and the company handles the switchover, including letting your old provider know that you're leaving them.

This system has been around since 2015 but was only available when switching between providers, such as Sky and BT, on the Openreach network (shared infrastructure). With today's expansion, One Touch Switch is available even if you're moving to another network, such as Virgin Media.

Ofcom decided to expand One Touch Switch because it observed that a range of competing fiber-optic networks are being built. To ensure people can continue to switch easily, it decided to make One Touch Switch available across networks.

One of the benefits of One Touch Switch is that customers don't need to pay a notice-period charge beyond the switch date. This ensures that you're not giving any money to your old provider once you've switched. If the switch goes wrong or customers are left without services for more than one working day, providers must compensate customers.

Ofcom said that providers have been trying out the new switching process since July and have successfully used it to switch customers over. It did warn, however, that a minority of switches could be unsuccessful due to issues when matching customer information.

To address this, Ofcom is providing a six-week transition period where existing switching processes are kept as backup protection for customers. So, when you decide to switch, the new system will be used, unless something goes wrong, then the backup will be used.

Hopefully, the removal of barriers to switching providers will make customers more likely to switch. This will encourage providers not to get too bold with their price rises, as it could lead to an exodus of users. In other cases, it could lead to providers lowering prices to attract people.

Source: Ofcom