Posted on: 4th May 2023, by Magrathea
Welcome to the latest edition of the Magrathea Newsletter, combining news from Magrathea and around the industry.
Gaining Party Led Switching & Porting
We recently shared some information from the Gaining Provider Led Business Steering Group but if you haven’t caught up with that already do take a look at the attached bulletin.
Meanwhile, feedback to us has suggested that the information available about the new Switching and porting rules is a bit confusing so we have created this simple graphic to help clients understand what they need to do. See attached for the full document.
PSTN Shutdown
Awareness is growing, and when you consider the national ‘stop-sell’ is only a few short months away it’s about time too! Through our work with Comms Council UK we have helped launched their webpage which can be found here https://commscouncil.uk/the-great-voice-switchover/
And on 16th May, Tracey Wright will be joining one of the panel sessions for techUK. The topic is ‘Helping businesses prepare for the Digital Phone Switchover’ and attendance is free. This might be a useful event for some of your customers to attend. You can register here: https://www.techuk.org/what-we-deliver/events/techuk-briefing-helping-businesses-prepare-for-the-digital-phone-switchover.html
Another Ofcom consultation on CLI
We are just days away from the official implementation date of the previous Ofcom statement on CLI, which we actually implemented on our network a few weeks ago, and they’ve issued another consultation on the topic.
We have been anticipating this one for some time, aware that Ofcom have been considering moving to a similar CLI authentication model that was introduced in the US a while ago. Very simply, STIR/SHAKEN is a system by which call originators confirm that a CLI can be legitimately used by the caller so when the call is processed by the called party’s provider they can complete the call with confidence that the CLI is not spoofed.
This is a significant change in the way things are currently done and the NICC have looked into the various implementation options already which Ofcom are also taking into account. This consultation aims to get a feel for industry views on impact, cost and feasibility before doing another consultation next year on more detailed requirements.
The role of a central numbering database is also mentioned, something we are openly very keen on – not just for CLI management, but for a whole number of use cases.
Alongside CLI authentication, Ofcom also mention that they may consult on going a step further than just blocking UK Network CLI from International calls and instead block any UK CLI being used when the call originates overseas. It is very common practice to use a UK presentation CLI when using an overseas call centre or branch office, for example, so this will be an important consultation to get involved with.
The consultation can be found here https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/cli-authentication and we will soon be loading a more detailed summary onto our website.
Comms Council UK Awards
We are proud sponsors of the 15th anniversary Comms Council UK Awards 2023. This year’s ceremony will take place on the 28th September at Tate Modern, the world-famous contemporary art gallery in London.
All entrants must submit their written entry by 9th June! See the website for full details: https://commscouncil.uk/awards/categories-entry-information/
Restricted Tariff options
Our Restricted Tariff options offer you the ability to limit the destinations that can be dialled through your outgoing calling account. There are two options to limit the destinations you can dial by pence per minute on both the standard and gold route plans – you can choose either 3p per minute or 15p per minute as a restriction.
These changes can be made via our Client Portal or RestAPI, if you are not already using one of these tools or you cannot see the new feature down the left hand side of your Client Portal home screen, please contact us on support@magrathea-telecom.co.uk and we can very quickly arrange for you to have access to these tools, or to adjust your level of access so that you can use this feature.
Emergency Services Calls
If you do not already have access to 999/112 via Magrathea, we can offer a fully reliable service that has been extensively tested by the BT Emergency Handling Authority (EHA). Once you are signed up for this service, name and address data can be submitted via our API’s and 999/112 calls passed via your outbound account will be sent through to the EHA.
If you would like more information on this service, please contact us on support@magrathea-telecom.co.uk or you can call us – 0345 004 0040.
What’s on our minds…
The focus for the last few weeks has been looking ahead to what additional resources we need in the team. One of our support team decided to have a career change, we are very proud of him for taking the leap but he is much missed and we find ourselves searching for the right person to fill the gap left in our close knit team. Alongside the newly created role for an additional developer, we are busy interviewing and hope to have bolstered our team up very soon. Every new person brings fresh ideas and enthusiasm so it’s exciting times!
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
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.