Six Industry Testing Opportunities Planned Ahead of December 6 Production Launch
NEW YORK, July 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The SEC recently approved CTA and UTP Plan Amendments to allow the Securities Information Processors (“SIPs”) to extend their operating hours beginning in December (https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nms/2026/34-105779.pdf) and (https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nms/2026/34-105780.pdf). In response, the Operating Committees of the UTP and CTA Plans that oversee the SIPs have announced the industry testing schedule supporting the implementation of extended trading hours, with production launch on December 6, 2026.
The scheduled testing will provide market participants with multiple opportunities to validate their systems and operational readiness ahead of the launch, when the SIPs will begin operating on an expanded schedule covering approximately 23 hours per day, five days per week.
Industry Testing Begins in October
The Plan Operating Committees, together with their respective Processors, have established the following industry testing schedule for User Acceptance Testing (UAT):
All dates are 2026
- October 2
- October 16
- October 30
- November 6
- November 20
- December 4
Each testing event will begin at 11:00 p.m. ET on Friday evening and continue through the standard Saturday industry testing window, concluding at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Testing will be conducted over the CTA SIP and UTP SIP production multicast channels, allowing market participants to test under conditions that closely resemble the production environment.
For further details, please see the recent announcements from CTA (https://www.ctaplan.com/announcements#110000958182) and UTP (https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/TraderNews.aspx?id=UTP2026-20).
Preparing for December Implementation
Beginning Sunday, December 6, 2026, the SIPs will support extended trading hours from 9:00 p.m. ET Sunday through 8:00 p.m. ET Friday, with a planned one-hour technical maintenance window each evening between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. ET.
“The transition to extended trading hours continues to progress as planned, and these industry test weekends are an important opportunity for participants to validate their systems in advance of production implementation,” said Jeff Kimsey, Chairman of the SIP Operating Committees. We appreciate the industry’s engagement and look forward to a successful launch in December.”
Additional implementation details, including the revised transmission schedule, will be announced in advance of the December production launch.
Additional SEC Filings
In connection to the shift to extended trading hours, the listing markets have filed with the Commission rules mandating overnight regulatory halts for certain corporate actions. Details are available at the Nasdaq (https://www.nasdaq.com/docs/global-trading-hours-corporate-actions-faqs) and NYSE web sites (https://www.nyse.com/publicdocs/nyse/NYSE_Arca_Corporate_Action_Halt_FAQ.pdf).
While the SIPs are preparing for the planned launch of 23×5 trading, individual Participants seeking to participate in the extended-hours session will be required to obtain SEC approval of any necessary rule changes or regulatory filings.
About the SIPs
The “SIPs” (Securities Information Processors) link the U.S. markets by processing and consolidating all protected equities bid/ask quotes and trades from every registered exchange, as well as FINRA’s Alternative Display Facility (ADF) and Trade Reporting Facilities (TRF), into a single, easily consumable data feed. The SIPs are an asset unique to U.S. market structure and play a critical role in making the U.S. equities markets transparent and accessible to investors worldwide.
Although often referred to in the singular, there are actually two SIPs: the combined CTA (Consolidated Tape Association) and CQ (Consolidated Quotation System) SIP, and the UTP (Unlisted Trading Privileges) SIP. The CTA/CQ SIP is responsible for the dissemination of real‐time quote and trade information in New York Stock Exchange listed securities (sometimes called “Network A” or “Tape A” securities) and Cboe, NYSE Arca, NYSE American, and other regional exchange listed securities (sometimes called “Network B” or “Tape B” securities). The UTP SIP handles Nasdaq-listed securities (sometimes called “Network C” or “Tape C” securities). This structure has been in place since the late 1970s, when the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) mandated that all registered exchanges that trade Network A, B, or C securities send their trades and quotes to the SIPs for consolidated worldwide distribution.
Each SIP is governed by a Plan and run by an Operating Committee (“OC”) comprised of its Plan Participants. The OCs are counseled by an Advisory Committee made up of individuals representing firms from across the industry and representing the diverse viewpoints of the market. Among other duties, the OCs set their individual Plan policies, select a Processor that is responsible for providing the technology to power it, and review the performance of both the Processor and the network administrators, which are responsible for the administrative functions for each SIP, such as contracting, billing, auditing, policy development, and vendor relations. The New York Stock Exchange serves as the Administrator for the CTA/CQ SIP Plans and the Securities Industry Automation Corporation is the Processor. Nasdaq business units serve as the Administrator and Processor for the UTP SIP.
One of the primary objectives of both SIPs is transparency. Both the CTA/CQ Operating Committee and UTP Operating Committee meet quarterly, and the summary of the General Sessions of those meetings are posted to their respective websites: www.ctaplan.com and www.utpplan.com. Also provided on those websites are their Plans’ announcements, policies, quarterly and monthly performance metrics, the pricing schedules, technical specifications, and more.
Media Contact
Rafi Reguer
Forefront Communications for the CTA/CQ and UTP Plan Operating Committees
+1 (718) 781-4946
rreguer@forefrontcomms.com
SOURCE SIP Operating Committees