Posted on: 5th February 2025, by Magrathea
Welcome to the February newsletter, combining news from Magrathea and around the industry.
What’s included
- Voice is still important (article link)
- MAGIC Portal: Recurring maintenance window
- Ofcom enforcement: One Touch Switch
- Ofcom consultation: Plan of Work 2025/26
- Premium Rate services regulatory responsibility moves to Ofcom
- Service Spotlight: Number Portability
- Reminder: No recycling of ported numbers
- Workshop invitation: Number Portability – 20th February 2025
- Reminder: USA Calling
- Industry events and updates
- What’s on our minds…
Voice is still important
As a voice specialist we often get asked what we think the real value is for providers offering a voice solution when it can be simpler to offer connectivity alone. This article shares our thoughts on the topic.
MAGIC Portal: Recurring maintenance window
Clients will be aware that we fairly frequently add small updates and features to the MAGIC Portal and the various tools contained within it. Our team prefer to do these with the portal off-line to avoid any risk of disruption so we do it under a 7-day maintenance notice.
However, to enable us to be more responsive and introduce changes and updates faster we have decided to declare a recurring maintenance window each Sunday morning. Of course, there won’t be updates every week but we have identified almost no usage between the hours of 10am and midday on a Sunday so on the days we do take it off-line it should have very little impact. A clear message will be displayed if you attempt to access the Portal during a maintenance window so you will know to try again later.
If this enduring notice or the time slot given (Sundays between 10am and midday) causes any client concern, please do contact our support team and let us know. A separate notice will be sent to our operational mailing list highlighting this plan to give an opportunity for comment.
Ofcom enforcement: One Touch Switch
Ofcom sent an update on 31st January confirming that they are writing to the largest providers to understand ongoing issues with ‘matching’ data exchanged between the Losing Provider and Gaining Provider under the new OTS scheme. They will decide what next steps are necessary when they have received feedback. You can see the enforcement notice here.
Ofcom consultation: Plan of Work 2025/26
Ofcom are obliged to consult each year on their intended focus for the next 12 months, this is how they determine how best to deliver on the governments strategic priorities. This year we responded much the same as we did last year, our key comments were:
- Disappointment that number portability has once again been ignored as an issue to address, particularly now that One Touch Switching has put a spotlight on the challenges.
- Dismay that any form of common numbering data share is included. Something that could potentially help improve porting, cli validation, traceability of fraud calls and efficient call routing.
- A renewed call for a ‘business champion’ within Ofcom, someone who would review statements and guidance through the eyes of the service provider value chain rather than just the consumer.
We will report back on the final plan when it is released.
Premium Rate services regulatory responsibility moves to Ofcom
As reported in December, the regulatory responsibility for premium rate numbers has now formally passed from the Pre-Paid Services Authority (PSA) to Ofcom.
Our earlier summary of what this means for our clients can be found here. A key change to flag is that there was previously an exemption for 087x numbers but this has been lifted, so clients with 087x with a value of 7p or greater will now have to register the service with Ofcom. We await details of the new registration process from Ofcom and will share when available.
Service Spotlight: Number Portability
Number porting is such a fundamental service that nearly all providers and carriers offer it nowadays and therefore it often goes unmentioned as a service we deliver. But with February being the month of love and affection we thought we would showcase one of our favourite services! OK, that might be taking it a little far but we do have great love and affection for the fabulous team here that manage this particular function, which can be quite stressful.
Our porting team are often the most frequent point of contact for our clients and as such are a key part of the customer support we offer, their efficient and friendly manner is often mentioned by our clients and their knowledge and expertise in this area is highly valued by many.
As well as the routine order processing, we contribute to a variety of industry working groups that exist to try and improve the process, we even helped with the drafting of the current industry process guide. As a result, our team are truly invested in making the process work and following the deadlines imposed. Of course, things don’t always go smoothly and the process isn’t perfect, but that’s where we aim to add real value and resolve problems quickly and with as little disruption as possible.
Everyone knows that porting is an administratively intensive process, but we have taken the strain out of it as far as we can for now. Our first Porting Portal was brought online back in 2010, with an API and updated Portal being launched in 2022. Our mission was to include as much validation and automation as we could in order to minimise the manual work for both our clients, and our team, whilst allowing for manual handling for the more complex and unusual cases.
If you would like any information about porting, or perhaps would value some more insights into the process, see the note below about our porting workshops. We are equally happy to organise a bespoke session for your specific business so just get in touch with your requirements.
Important Reminder not to Recycle Ported Numbers
While we are on the topic of porting, there is the occasional case of a problem occurring whereby a range is imported for an end user, but then subsequently reused by the CP for another end user once the original end user has terminated their service.
Re-using ported in numbers in this way is prohibited under the industry porting guidelines and so you should take care to ensure this doesn’t happen on numbers that you have ported in for an end user.
Once an end user has terminated service on their numbers, one of two things should happen. If part of a range is no longer in use, the unused numbers should be quarantined as they cannot be re-used. If it’s a complete range that is no longer in use, these should be returned to the range holder – we can arrange for this to happen if you email porting@magrathea-telecom.co.uk.
We perform regular audits of numbering to make sure that where ported numbers have been deactivated, they are returned to the range holder where possible but if you can flag these to us as well that is really helpful!
Workshop Invitation: Number Portability – 20th February 2025 at 11:00
Having run a number of online workshops successfully since 2020, we have decided to stick with this format now. This unfortunately means we no longer supply tea and cake, but we do save you on travelling time! Our next workshop, that is open to all clients, will be run on 20th February at 11am via MS Teams. The workshop will cover:
- A general understanding of number portability
- A step-by-step guide to the porting process
- Best practice guidance for reducing rejections
- The latest updates and industry insights
If you would like to join this workshop or be added to the waiting list for our next date, please email support@magrathea-telecom.co.uk. Bespoke or face to face workshops can be arranged on request.
Reminder: USA Calling
All clients calling the USA are reminded of the need to comply with the necessary registration and due diligence processes. For more details of our requirements please visit our download page or MAGIC Portal and search for ‘Guidance on compliance for US Calling’. Rules are particularly stringent if you are presenting a USA Caller ID and failure to follow the guidance will result in call blocking.
Industry events
Comms Council UK have just launched the CCUK Awards for 2025. Entry is open to members and non-members alike – you have until the end of March to register. You can find out more here.
CCUK are also hosting their inaugural Fraud Summit on 5th March 2025, this event is designed to bring together all the various stakeholders to find a way to better collaborate and in particular share knowledge to help reduce fraud. Open to non-members, book your tickets here and there are sponsorship opportunities to show your support of this key topic impacting our industry. Contact team@commscouncil.uk for more details.
What’s on our minds…
The big news around here is that our MD, Tracey, has taken on the role of Chair of Comms Council UK. Most of our readers will know that we were founding members of CCUK (formerly ITSPA) so have been closely involved with the trade association from day one. Tracey has been a committed and active council and working group member for a number of years so it was a natural progression for her to embrace this opportunity when the longstanding Chair, Eli Katz, decided to resign from the position.
We asked Tracey to comment on what it means to her to be made Chair, what she hopes to achieve in the role, and how it might impact Magrathea.
“Being nominated to succeed Eli is a huge professional highlight for me. I’ve always been a passionate supporter of the work CCUK do and the focus on giving all providers, no matter what size, a voice in the industry is something I feel is critical to enable growth and competition. With everyone involved being volunteers and fitting their contribution around their day job, it’s crucial to have a Chair that can help everyone stay organised and pulling together when their time is stretched in all directions. I like to think that’s what I can bring to the table, supported by our brilliant secretariat team at Clarity.
CCUK is in its 20th year now, so this is prime time to refresh our plans and look ahead to the future. 2025 is set to be a big year for us with a serious focus on the issues around fraud and scams as well as continuing the amazing work that the Women in Telecoms group are doing, not to mention working with Ofcom on the upcoming five year review into the voice market.
How might this impact Magrathea? Well, considering I’ve been involved with CCUK for almost as long as I’ve been working at Magrathea, I don’t anticipate much will change from Magrathea’s point of view. The team here fully support, and often get involved in, a range of industry work knowing that it fits with our values and ultimately helps us provide a great service.”
We will follow up with Tracey in a few months to see how the new role is going, meanwhile you can see one of her recent interviews here explaining more about the work of CCUK in 2025.
As always here at Magrathea we appreciate your comments and feedback, if there is anything you would like to contact us about, or you would like to opt out of receiving future newsletters, please email info@magrathea-telecom.co.uk
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.