Posted on: 2nd April 2026, by Magrathea
Welcome to the April newsletter, combining news from Magrathea and around the industry.
What’s included
- Choosing a Wholesale Partner: What to consider to get it right (article link)
- DSIT: Mobile Market Review
- ICO: Draft complaint guidance
- Ofcom Statements and Consultations
- Reminder: Ofcom – Access to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
- Government initiative: Breaking down the barrier to women in tech – call for evidence
- Reminder: Making payments to outbound accounts
- Service Spotlight: APIs
- Service Spotlight: Gold Numbers
- Events and outings
- Magrathea Musings
Choosing a Wholesale Partner: What to consider to get it right
Choosing a wholesale partner sounds straightforward – but in practice, it rarely is. Pricing isn’t always transparent, terminology can vary, and providers often package services in very different ways. That can make it difficult to compare like for like, and even harder to understand where the real value sits.
We’ve pulled together some practical considerations to help cut through the noise – from commercial models and infrastructure through to partnership approach and long-term fit. Read the full article on our website .
DSIT Mobile Market Review
The review is essentially a fact-finding consultation to shape future telecoms policy—focused on ensuring the UK can fund, build, and regulate next-generation mobile networks (especially 5G) effectively over the next decade. The government are inviting views from industry, public and private sector organisations and the key issues being explored are:
- The quality and coverage needed for effective 5G
- Growth in mobile data traffic and new technologies
- The impact of market conditions on consumers
- Barriers to 5G adoption, including private networks
- Whether policies like planning rules, spectrum fees, and net neutrality need updating
If you would like to find out more and/or add your views then details can be found here.
ICO: Draft complaint guidance
As part of the Data Use and Access Act from 19th June 2026 organisations need to have a clear process of handling complaints connected directly to data handling; customers need to be able to find it easily and all staff involved should receive training about the process. The expectation is that any complaint should be resolved within 30 days. As Telcos are already obliged to have a clear complaint handling process then hopefully it should not be difficult to widen the scope to include data handling. For more detail please read about it here.
Ofcom Statements and Consultations:
Ofcom update: BT Landline only customers
Ofcom are keeping a watch on BT to ensure they treat these end-users fairly; the majority of this group are older and do not tend to switch or change services and some may benefit from a social tariff. Full details can be found here.
Ofcom statement: Plan of Work 2026/27
Ofcom’s 2026/27 plan focuses on delivering reliable connectivity, trusted media, stronger online safety, and advanced wireless infrastructure, while supporting investment, innovation, and economic growth in UK communications markets.
For telcos the three key areas will be:
- Improve mobile and broadband coverage, especially in underserved areas
- Ensure network resilience and security (including new cyber/security duties)
- Continue major telecoms reviews (e.g. fibre, wholesale markets).
Fraud was also mentioned; overall, we don’t think anyone will be surprised about the direction of travel over the coming year and beyond. More information can be downloaded here.
Ofcom statement: Reviews of Call Termination Markets and End-to-End Connectivity Condition
Of all the Ofcom statements and consultations this month this is the one we have been waiting for. It’s a really important document as it sets out the next five years from Ofcom’s perspective on our marketplace. There is a lot to digest and we will be sharing more detailed thoughts and observations shortly, but as mentioned in our article on choosing a wholesaler, our biggest concern is the ending of the End-to- End Connectivity Condition which we feel has the potential to make things more difficult for new and smaller players to negotiate with the larger, established incumbent. The full document can be found here.
Ofcom statement: Promoting competition and investment in fibre networks – Telecoms Access Review (TAR) 2026-31
This is understandably a heavy read, but in summary Ofcom is keeping to its course set out 5 years ago and is giving the marketplace some certainty for the next 5 years, particularly with its pricing rules. It is extending and refining the 2021 framework, encouraging as far as it can, a competitive market place; so Openreach are not yet released from its obligations. Its on-going role will be to use its regulatory powers to guide the UK through the final stage of fibre rollout, preparing for a fully fibre-based telecoms market. For full details see here.
Ofcom consultation: Approach to the Copper Retirement second threshold calculation – Telecoms Access Review 2026-31
In tandem with the above statement on promoting competition in fibre networks Ofcom want to ensure fibre is fully rolled out before relaxing any regulation on copper-based services. This second out of three thresholds is high and requires Openreach to provide ultrafast coverage to the majority of the premises in an exchange area, excluding any premises that Ofcom directs in a consistent way. So this consultation sets out the proposed approach or calculation for allowing Openreach to exclude premises from the second threshold.
The closing date for this consultation is 12 May 2026, with a statement and the proposed draft direction of implementation due in Autumn 2026. Full details can be found here.
Reminder: Ofcom – Access to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
A reminder that Ofcom has confirmed that the timeframe for telecoms consumers to access Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) will reduce from eight weeks to six weeks, with the new rules taking effect on 8 April 2026.
This change applies to residential and business complaints and is intended to help consumers across the sector resolve their complaints sooner. Further information can be found here.
Government initiative: Breaking down the barriers to women in tech – call for evidence
On the 12th March the Government launched four key initiatives to support women in getting into the tech sector and overcoming barriers to build and stay in a career. Why is this key?
It’s not just about equity of opportunity, it is estimated that the economy is losing out every year between £2-£3.5bn because of women leaving the industry. So, these initiatives are focused on helping women get a role and building a career, return to the industry after a break and encourage them to start thinking about tech as a career from an early age. The government is also calling for evidence, to inform future initiatives and Government strategy.
It is a well needed start and we welcome and support any activity to improve the attraction of the tech sector to women – we all know there is a real issue with pipeline talent and has been for a while. We also hope that the call for evidence can result in strengthened and more developed plans, which are badly needed.
However, we also need to highlight that the government’s own data shows that underrepresentation extends beyond gender. Disabled people, ethnic minorities and those over 50 are all less represented and in addition, people from disadvantaged back grounds are more likely to go into law and finance than technology. In an industry which is arguably better placed than most to draw on a broad and diverse talent pool, it feels like something has gone terribly wrong in the recruitment algorithms and/or how the sector sells itself. There is clearly more to be done. See here for the detail and the link to the questionnaire.
Reminder: Making payments to outbound accounts
This is a gentle reminder that when sending funds to top up your outbound accounts to include the relevant account number in the payment reference. Sometimes clients can have more than one account, or names of payees may differ from account names so this information ensures the credit goes to the correct account as efficiently as possible.
Service Spotlight: API’s – Not everything that matters is designed to be seen.
APIs might not be the headline feature, but they are the connectors that keep everything moving – quietly enabling your systems to integrate seamlessly with ours, securely and at scale.
From day one, APIs have been a core part of how we support clients, giving you direct control over how you access and manage our services, and the flexibility to build them into your own platforms in a way that works for you. As we’ve evolved – introducing MAGIC and enhancing our Porting Portal – we’ve continued to expand our APIs; supporting new functionality without adding unnecessary complexity.
They may sit in the background – and are often overshadowed by more exciting projects (more to come on that!) – but they play a central part to what we do. If you’d like to learn more about how our API’s can support your services, our support team would be happy to help.
Service Spotlight: Gold numbers
Gold numbers are available within all our number ranges and continue to be a popular option for many business users. Memorable numbers or attractive repeating digit patterns will enable your customer to maximise their sales opportunities and will provide an excellent return on investment when used in advertising.
One off allocation fee for these numbers start from £100 upwards, please contact us if you would like to discuss a quote for these numbers.
Events and outings
In March we saw the start of industry events season, it feels like they all come along at once. Tracey, Simon and Hayley went along to Channel Live and also Cavell with Alison.
The new one-day format of Channel Live – relocated to London – provided a great opportunity to meet customers and industry colleagues and the session were interesting and engaging. At Cavell we heard from lots of great speakers and similarly caught up with friends old and new – sorry if we didn’t manage to speak to you as both events were very busy which was great to see.
On April 15th we will be attending the CCUK Fraud Summit. Tracey will be hosting in her capacity as CCUK Chair and our Laura Moore is participating on a panel looking at real world fraud cases and how investigations are carried out. Abby and Hayley will also be there, so please do say hello if you are attending also. Some tickets are still available to book If you don’t have yours yet!
Magrathea Musings
This month marks the first in a series of price increases on WLR lines for this year, but we are observing a number of clients who aren’t in a particular rush to migrate to a fibre or partial fibre solution.
However, with increasing costs and diminishing support for this service we urge you to act now and avoid any last-minute panics or problems when we stop supporting this service in December.
Another significant price increase will follow in July, and then another in October, so it’s worth revisiting your current position to ensure it’s still viable for you to support the legacy technology.
Kind regards
Client Support, Magrathea
The information contained in this guidance is for your information only and is not intended to be relied on. It does not constitute legal professional advice, nor is it a substitute for you obtaining your own legal professional advice. Magrathea accepts no liability whatsoever for any errors, omissions or statements in this guidance or for any loss which may arise from your use of this guidance.