Wholesale Line Rental

Why is WLR2 being withdrawn?
WLR is one of the product groups that we offer to customers on an Equivalence of Inputs (EOI) basis. That means the same terms and end-to-end product experience for all customers. We’ve been working hard to develop a WLR product that ensures fair and equal access for all our Communications Provider customers and meets their business needs in a 24/7 society.

When is WLR2 being withdrawn?
There are a number of key dates to be aware of, the most significant being:
• 14 August 2010
Deadline for arranging a product establishment slot

• 01 January 2011
Customer required dates (CRDs) for orders limited to 30 days

• 31 March 2011
No new orders accepted for WLR2

• 30 June 2011
WLR2 Products withdrawn

How long does it take to move?
It takes 3-6 months to move from WLR2 to WLR3. There are two main stages for this – product establishment and transition (the migration of WLR2 lines to WLR3). The exact time it takes will depend on the scale and complexity of your business. The sooner you contact us to begin the process, the less risk there is of there being any disruption to your customers’ service.
With no new orders being accepted for WLR2 after 31 March 2011, you should start the process now. Contact us at product.establishment@openreach.co.uk by 14 August to book a slot and ensure you complete your move to WLR3 in time.

What happens if I don’t move?
During the withdrawal programme we’ll do our very best to help you avoid the consequences of not completing WLR3 product establishment and transition in time. But we need to work together to make the move from WLR2 to WLR3 as smooth and successful as possible. If you delay beginning the process now, you may face:

01 January 2011: Customer required dates (CRDs) reduced to 30 days
WLR2 to WLR3 transition is not possible on assets which have open orders or faults. To reduce the number of open orders in the system we will limit the CRD for new orders to 30 days from 1 January 2011. This will help us complete transitions for as many assets as possible before 30 June 2011.
As soon as you have completed WLR3 product establishment you can raise new provision orders on WLR3 and, for existing assets, you can transfer the WLR2 asset and then raise the order on WLR3.

31 March 2011: No new orders accepted for WLR2
If you have not completed WLR3 product establishment you won’t be able to provide, transfer or modify a line. So, if your existing WLR2 customers want, for example, to change calling features, you won’t be able to do this for them.
But if you’ve completed WLR3 product establishment by this date, you’ll be able to continue to do all of the above by transitioning individual lines. We’ll also continue to allow WLR2 faults to be logged on the system until 30 June 2011.
Please check our orders and faults table for details on what features will be available after each of the main withdrawal dates (31 March 2011 and 30 June 2011) and what will be covered by the contingency plan.

30 June 2011: WLR2 withdrawn
At this point we will revoke your access to our WLR2 systems. We won’t accept orders via the SPG or XML, and we won’t accept faults via eCo Repair or the Equivalence Management Platform (EMP).
Your customers won’t be disconnected, but because you won’t have access to our systems you won’t be able to change or modify their lines. To avoid this situation, you’ll need to have already completed your move to WLR3 before 30 June 2011.

Contingency Plan
If you have “stranded assets” (WLR2 lines that have not been transitioned to WLR3) after 30 June 2011, we will provide a limited manual contingency service through the Service Management Centre (SMC) which will incur additional charges per transaction (price TBC) in addition to standard charges. The service will be available while you complete the move to WLR3 and will offer the ability to raise cease, cancel own, cancel other, debt management orders and faults. You’ll also still have access to order and fault tracker.
This service will be provided as a contingency to prevent disruption to your end users while you complete WLR3 product establishment and transition.

How do I move to WLR3?
We have set up a special booking system – the Capacity Reservation Process – to help you move to WLR3. You’ll be supported by dedicated teams who will advise and assist you every step of the way.
If you’ve already completed product establishment, you’ll need to book a slot for transition. If you haven’t yet completed product establishment, you’ll need to book slots for this and transition.
The Capacity Reservation Process runs on a first come first served basis. The earlier you register the more control you’ll have over when you move to WLR3. If you’ve not started WLR3 product establishment, contact us now – and before 14 August at the latest – to begin the process. The longer you wait, the more limited your options become and the more restricted your business will be in terms of product establishment timescales.
As with all large-scale projects it is likely there will be some peaks of demand. Slots close to the March and June 2011 milestone dates will fill up very quickly. We have a finite capacity for establishment and transition each month and the Capacity Reservation Process will help us manage demand fairly.
If you choose not to contact us, you won’t have a guaranteed place of your choice, and you may need to accept limited options in terms of booking slots and timescales.

What’s involved in moving to WLR3?
One of the first things we’ll discuss with you is how you plan to connect to our Equivalence Management Platform (EMP), the digital nerve centre of WLR3 and the source of most of its benefits.
You can choose to connect:
• Direct (by building and managing your own solution)
• Off the shelf (using a pre-configured solution managed by you)
• Using a Third Party Integrator (TPI), which is an organisation already connected to the EMP

You can get more information on product establishment and getting started online.
You can also see the WLR2 withdrawal announcement briefing, published on 8 April 2009, in the 'News' section.

What do I need to do now?
The first step is to contact us at customer.establishment@openreach.co.uk. We’ll guide you through all the processes to become a WLR3 customer. This includes product familiarisation, connecting to our platforms and integration onto our systems.