The Federation of Communication Services held its annual Comms Provider event in November 2022. The event was very well attended by both FCS members and industry leads keen to gain more information on the three key areas the event covered; Switching (of fixed voice & broadband & infrastructure), The Move to All-IP, and Competition (in the wholesale and retail markets).
Paul Bradbury, the chair of the newly formed One Touch Switching Company (TOTSCo) led the first session on Switching, covering progress of the One Touch Switching hub which will enable volume residential customer switching, and which will be regulated by Ofcom. Megan Corcoran (FCS), supported by Dave Stubbs (Virgin Media/02) and Lee Turner (Gamma) then briefed attendees on the progress of Business Switching (both simple and complex) of Voice, Broadband & Infrastructure process designs, which Ofcom mandate must be ‘Gaining Provider Led’.
The second session on the Move to All-IP, was led by Juliette Scott from Openreach, and provided attendees with a comprehensive update on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) closure, withdrawal of copper-based services, telephone exchange upgrades to full-fiber presence and the IP-based solutions, products and services that are available for CPs to enable them to choose how they move their customer base to All-IP.
During the third session, Tim Cowen (Preiskels) and James Roswell (51 degrees) addresses some of the Competition risks and challenges impacting both the wholesale and retail markets.
The event concluded with a panel session from a team of industry experts, including Itret Latif (FCS), David Halliday (OTA2), Ryan Hardy (Openreach), plus the session presenters themselves, answering attendees’ questions. Most of the queries and concerns came from the complex area of Switching, both for residential and business customers, which will also include a requirement to switch infrastructure provider.
Members who missed the event, would like to look back on any of the slides, or would like to watch the recording of the sessions, can access them HERE.