Ofcom General Condition C7 and business switching

General Condition C7 is the Ofcom rule that sets the obligations Communications Providers must meet when customers switch services, and it is the regulatory foundation for switching and number porting in the UK. This page is Switching for Business's practical commentary and is not affiliated with Ofcom; Ofcom's published General Conditions are the authoritative source.

What it means when you sell to businesses

Meeting C7 for residential customers does not mean you meet it for business ones. Business switching runs through the Gaining Provider-Led Business (GPLB) process, which brings transactions that stay open for up to 180 days, estates mixing switchable and non-switchable assets, and phased migrations requiring dual running.

What compliance looks like in practice

Correct process handling — switches initiated, responded to and completed within the defined windows, with state tracked explicitly.
Validated eligibility — automated, auditable pre-switch checks against live services, contract terms and asset inventory.
Accurate asset treatment — services that must not move are identified and protected rather than switched by default.
Evidence that survives — immutable logs, a timestamped message archive, and dispute traceability produced long after the transaction closed.

Where to read the rules

Read Ofcom's General Conditions directly rather than relying on any summary. OTA2, the Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator, publishes implementation and best-practice guidance, and the FCS provides GPLB guidance and industry coordination for UK Communications Providers.

What is GPLB? | What is a Managed Access Provider? | Glossary

Authoritative sources: Ofcom General Conditions, OTA2 best practice guide, FCS business switching.

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