Switch from Virgin to BT (and vice versa) more easily

You’ll soon be able to switch more easily between Virgin Media and Openreach networks like BT, Sky and Talktalk under Ofcom’s new One Touch Switch process.

Currently it’s relatively straightforward to move between providers that operate on Openreach’s copper network – you just need to contact your new provider and it will do the work for you, including asking your old provider to send you a final bill.

But switching has remained a lot harder when moving between an Openreach provider and one that runs its own cables, such as Virgin and Cityfibre.

In such cases you have to contact both your old and new provider in order to implement the switch. This can lead to many frustrating phone calls as you try to co-ordinate the move. You’re also likely to be without internet access for a time between the old service ending and the new one beginning.

Ofcom’s new rules will change that, but they won’t come into force until April 2023, four months after the date it initially proposed. The regulator says the move is a “complex change” for providers, and it wants to give them enough time to update their systems so they “work well for customers”.

The regulator said your new provider would have to pay you compensation if things go wrong and you’re left without a service for more than one working day.

The same system will also apply to switching landline phone lines. Ofcom said that it will give customers the right to keep their existing phone number for one month after they’ve terminated their contract, and ban companies charging to move (‘port’) their number.