Telecommunications Adjudicator update for November 2023

An update on the principle areas of project activity being led by OTA2 in November 2023.

See the latest charts

At the end of November 2023, the number of unbundled lines stands at 6.56 million. There are 2.55 million WLR lines and the number of telephone numbers using CPS is 1.08 million.  *

The following is an update on the principal areas of project activity being led by OTA2.

Passive infrastructure access

Given the prevailing challenges of the wider economy we have developed a framework document which sets out the principles to be followed by Network operators looking to exit or acquire assets built using PIA. The document will be published on the OTA2 web portal and referenced in the PIA Product description.

Operational performance remains good.

The Incident Management Framework has been iterated to reflect the discussions in the 2^nd IM Workshop.  There is now additional guidance on major incidents and the approach to interaction following the ACE Accommodate, Collaborate and Enable -principles again discussed in the workshop.

Active workstreams currently running to improve the product and its usability for CPs are:

• Health & Safety and good working practices
• NA Evidence and quality documentation for CPs to able to instruct their field resources.
• Connecting Customers
• Incident Management
• Multiple Network Adjustment orders for the same blockage.

Ethernet

Performance remains steady. Order intake remains high but slightly lower c 1400 per week with a slightly over 25% fallout due to cancellation and a completion rate of c1100 orders per week. The workstack is now below 20k which is beginning to impact the optimal levels of the operation.

Areas of interest

Order Quality Remains an area of focus and plans to expose the details behind the issues are being brought to the January ESF.

Transflex phase 2 – Information sharing and embedding the use of Transflex into orders. The demand stories for this development have been shared with industry at the Solution Development Forum and we await feedback from CPs to see if there are any additional issues to address.

Copper and fibre

Industry engagement to review FTTP metrics is continuing and will run through to late summer. The expectation is that the metric set will include some of the existing measures and also metrics currently shared by the service managers with CPs. The aim is to define a set of Key Performance Indicators which are appropriately supported, relevant and recognised by Openreach and Industry and which will effectively track the end customer experience. Good progress has been made regarding reviewing the KCI2 Assure process utilised on complex FTTP provisions with the intent of improving the customer experience, increasing certainty and thereby reducing pre-installation cancellations.

Openreach notified the launch of SOTAP on 02 November 2023. The launch date is 01 December 2023.

The Telecoms Security Act (TSA) and the Electronic Communications (Security Measures) Regulations 2022 (“ECSMR”) came into force in October 2022, and a Code of Practice providing guidance to CPs on how to comply with the new regulation, was published by Ofcom in December 2022. Sky have now formally requested Openreach to work with CPs to agree text that commits Openreach (in the relevant product contracts) to support the requirements of the regulations.

All-IP Steering Group

Within the Salisbury and Mildenhall trials, the majority of cessations have been completed, all the remaining degradation measures removed and billing on FTTC resumed where it had been paused.

While Ofcom are aware of a new Telecare SVR being progressed by industry and Openreach which will support a specialist appointed visit for migrations where a telecare alarm is present, Ofcom have expressed their concern to OTA2 regarding the risk of failure in the intervening period. They have requested OTA2 to work with CPs and Openreach to review how a temporary process might be introduced to mitigate such risks.

Customer switching

OTA2 maintain close engagement with Industry and TOTSCo (www.totsco.org.uk), supporting both through a number of initiatives. The IPG (Industry Process Group -co-chaired by OTA2) have produced a number of Best Practice Guides that complement the OTS Industry Process, expanding on the basics to assist users in using the process, including scenarios and exceptions that they may encounter.

For business switching, the GPLB-SG (Gaining Provider Lead Business Steering Group – also co-chaired by OTA2) continue to expand on the baseline switching process for both simple and complex business scenarios. The GPLB-PG (Gaining Provider Lead Business Process Group) are completing supporting Best Practice guides, much as for OTS, to assist users in the many and varied switching journeys. These documents, draft interface specifications, FAQs and more can be found here www.fcs.org.uk/gaining-provider-led-business-switching/ ). The GPLB-SG hope to make an important announcement very shortly regarding the technical solution for the business switching process.

Number porting

OTA2 continue to lead efforts that will make OTS Porting (aka Express Porting) more consumable by the complex supply chains that exist in Number Porting. A number of sessions have already been completed, with a further focus group meeting scheduled for 7 December 2023. Good progress is being made, with a number of improvements already suggested to address issues raised by wholesalers.

Service levels

Copper and fibre provision

Openreach FAD (First Available Appointment Date) performance nationally, over the 5-day period ending 29 November 2023 was as follows:

Notes:

1. MI and SI are Managed-Install and Self-Install orders
2. FTTC is Fibre to the cabinet
3. FTTP is Fibre to the premises
4. SOGEA is Single Order Generic Ethernet Access
5. GFAST is Fibre-base Ultrafast Broadband

Copper repair

LLU and WLR ‘on time repair’ performance has seen a downward trend for LLU and WLR, achieving a 4-week rolling average of 83.4% and 78.0% respectively, by week ending 24 November 2023

*The figures quoted exclude BT downstream connections

Signed David Halliday