Posted on: 6th October 2026, by Magrathea
Welcome to the October edition of MagInsights, bringing together the latest news from Magrathea and developments from across the industry.
In this edition
- Business Switching and Porting
- Sharing data to help tackle telecoms fraud
- Ofcom investigation into numbering misuse
- Reminder: The cost of waiting to migrate
- Service Spotlight: Secure RTP
- Service Spotlight: Telehouse Co-Location
- Events and outings
- Magrathea Musings
Industry Watch
Business Switching and Porting
We last covered business switching in our February newsletter. Since then, TOTSCo has continued to develop its Switching for Business solution and reduced its published pricing. Providers can connect to its Hub directly or through a Managed Access Provider (MAP), although the Hub is not mandatory. You can read more about TOTSCo’s business switching solution.
There is still no single approach that will suit every provider. If you are reviewing how to manage business switches, it is worth considering how many switches you expect to handle, the integration involved and how your chosen process will work alongside number porting.
Whatever approach you choose, our Porting Desk will continue to support you with the number porting element. If you would like to discuss how our porting process could fit into your plans, please get in touch.
Sharing data to help tackle telecoms fraud
Comms Council UK has published new guidance to help telecoms providers share information about suspected fraud lawfully, proportionately and with greater confidence.
Developed with the Home Office and Ofcom, with input from the Information Commissioner’s Office, the guidance includes practical checklists covering what information can be shared, when sharing may be appropriate and how decisions should be recorded.
Our Managing Director and Comms Council UK Chair, Tracey Wright, has been closely involved in developing the guidance, which is designed to support telecoms providers of all sizes.
For service providers, responsible data sharing can be an important part of fraud prevention, alongside effective customer checks, traffic awareness and appropriate service controls.
Read the guidance from Comms Council UK
Ofcom investigation into numbering misuse
On the 24th September, Ofcom announced two new investigations into whether telecoms providers have taken appropriate steps to prevent the misuse of telephone numbers allocated to them. At this stage, the investigations are ongoing and no conclusions have been reached. They form part of Ofcom’s wider enforcement programme into phone and text scams, which has already included two further investigations opened in 2024, which remain ongoing. For communications providers, the message is an important one. Ofcom expects providers to carry out appropriate Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, keep the level of risk posed by customers under review and monitor for potential misuse of numbers.
We regularly remind clients about the importance of effective due diligence and traffic monitoring. Detecting and preventing fraud and scams protects your business, your customers and the wider telecoms ecosystem. If you would like to review your approach, we are always happy to talk through how KYC and Know Your Traffic (KYT) monitoring can help you better understand activity on your account and identify potential issues earlier.
Reminder
The cost of waiting to migrate
With a further increase in WLR rental charges taking effect from 1 October and the PSTN retirement scheduled for 31 January 2027, delaying migration could mean paying more for legacy services while leaving less time to address complex requirements.
Now is the time to identify any remaining services that still depend on traditional telephone lines. These may include alarm systems, lift phones, entry systems, payment terminals, emergency phones and other equipment that can be easily overlooked.
If you are reviewing legacy services or need support with the voice and numbering elements of your migration, please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Service Spotlight
Secure RTP
When calls travel between networks, protecting both the call audio and the information used to set up the call matters. Magrathea’s Secure RTP service uses TLS to secure SIP signalling and SRTP to encrypt the audio traffic between our network and yours.
It’s a straightforward way to strengthen the security of your voice services and reduce the risk of call traffic being intercepted or monitored in transit.
To discuss Secure RTP or find out how to enable it, please contact our team.
Service Spotlight
Telehouse Co-Location
If you need greater resilience, security and control over your infrastructure, we offer colocation space at Telehouse East. You can house your equipment in the datacentre and connect directly to Magrathea’s core network, helping you strengthen the robustness of your overall network.
For pricing and availability, contact sales@magrathea-telecom.co.uk . You can also find more information in the Guide on the MAGIC Portal.
Events & Outings
| 15 OCT | CCUK Women in Telecoms Anniversary Meeting We’re looking forward to joining industry colleagues for the fourth anniversary of the Comms Council UK Women in Telecoms group, hosted by Vorboss in London. The afternoon will include a group update, guest speakers, a panel session and networking drinks, and we are pleased to be one of the event sponsors. |
| 12 NOV | NICC Open Forum Tracey will be speaking at the NICC Open forum in London. The forum brings together people working on the technical standards that shape UK communications, and we’re pleased that Tracey will be part of the discussion. If you are attending, do say hello. You can find event details on the NICC website. |
| 25 NOV | FCS CSP+ ‘Shaping Tomorrow’s World’ Event Anne-Marie will join speakers from BT Wholesale and Giacom for a panel session at the FCS CSP+ webinar on 25 November, from 2:00 to 3:15 pm. We’ll share more about her session as details are confirmed. You can view the event details and add it to your calendar on the FCS website. |
| 26 NOV | ISPA Awards We’re also looking ahead to the ISPA Awards at the Sheraton Park Lane in London. We have a couple of spaces available at our table, so if you’d enjoy an evening with the Magrathea team, our clients and others from across the industry, please get in touch . |
Magrathea Musings
We touched on our approach to AI in the July newsletter and, even in the short time since then, we’ve seen a noticeable change in the way some clients and prospects are using the tools available to them.
It is an exciting and interesting time to be in business and we are of course using AI ourselves where we believe it can help us work more efficiently and improve outcomes. At the same time, we are noticing more AI-generated questions being sent to our team and we are finding that, perhaps surprisingly, they do not always make things easier.
One of the things we pride ourselves on is the personal, often bespoke service that each client receives.
Sometimes an AI-generated query can make a relatively simple question more complicated than it needs to be, with lots of context, assumptions or technical detail wrapped around the point that really needs answering. That can mean our team spends time interpreting the question rather than solving the problem. In many cases, a short email exchange or conversation would get to the heart of it much more quickly.
We absolutely want to support people in making good use of new technology, but there is still real value in human interaction, particularly when the answer depends on understanding a particular setup, requirement or objective.
So, at the risk of sounding like an old telecoms advert, sometimes it really is good to talk!
Kind regards
The Magrathea Team
The information in this newsletter is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon as legal or professional advice. You should obtain independent professional advice where appropriate. Magrathea accepts no liability for any errors or omissions, or for any loss arising from reliance on this information.