Summary

  • Ofcom has launched a Consumer Hub alongside the second anniversary of One Touch Switch; the precise tally in its announcement records people starting the process.
  • A historical £9 monthly difference between contract-status groups is a reason to examine renewal pricing, not proof that every switch saves £108 a year.

A household can shop around without changing broadband company. An incumbent may improve its offer when a rival becomes a credible alternative. That can be a useful result for the customer, even though no service crosses to another supplier. It also makes a switching counter an incomplete guide to competition.

On 12 September, Ofcom announced its Consumer Hub, bringing together savings advice, help with service problems and routes to complain. The announcement marks two years of One Touch Switch and says more than 300 providers have joined the process. For broadband and landlines, the receiving company manages the transfer; customers should not have to negotiate cancellation with the company they are leaving.

The headline figure is around 3.5 million people switching over those two years. Its footnote is more specific: according to data from The One Touch Switching Company, or TOTSCO, 3,431,195 people had started the process by 3 September. That is evidence of use. The figure, as defined there, is not a count of verified completed transfers, distinct households paying less, or net gains for rival operators. It also predates the new hub, so it cannot demonstrate the hub's effect.

The savings comparison measures something else. Ofcom cites average monthly spending of £78 for out-of-contract customers taking broadband, landline and pay-TV together, against £69 for those in contract. The £9 gap annualises to £108. But the cited pricing report was published in February 2026, and these are different customer groups, not bills from the same households before and after a move. Applying that £108 to everyone in the switching tally would join two populations the announcement does not match.

The hub can still matter. It makes several decisions easier to find in one place: whether a contract has ended, what is available at an address and how to proceed with a transfer. A smaller broadband provider needs a prospect who can identify a usable alternative, not merely a nationally attractive advertised price. The incumbent, meanwhile, may face a more credible request for a better renewal offer.

There is practical work between choosing and receiving. Ofcom's switching guide, updated in August, describes charges information from the existing provider, possible engineer visits or equipment changes and getting the new service working before the old one ceases. A simpler contact process does not remove the installation or make every household's services a single transferable item.

Pay-TV is a particularly relevant boundary because it is part of the bundle used in the £78-versus-£69 comparison. The guide says customers may need to contact their current provider separately to cancel television or other services. A broadband move therefore does not, by itself, establish the cost of the remaining bundle. Provider-supplied email and linked landlines can introduce further decisions; the guide does not say their treatment is identical across offers.

Ofcom's savings advice also includes negotiating with the existing supplier, and recognises that bundles can be cheaper while being less flexible. Its broadband-choice guidance directs attention to availability, required speed, setup charges, contract length and service quality. Those qualifications are central to the market story. The useful outcome is an appropriate service at a better whole-household cost—not simply another start recorded in a transfer process.