In response to the unprecedented outage of the UK’s emergency calling service last summer, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has put forward new measures aimed at bolstering the system’s reliability. These steps are in addition to enhancements already made by BT to its emergency call handling protocols, following a significant disruption that saw 9,641 callers unable to reach emergency services due to a software bug on 25 June.
The incident, which marked the first significant disruption to the 999 service in nearly nine decades, exposed vulnerabilities in the system, particularly in providing crucial location data for emergency responders. Despite BT’s efforts to switch to a backup system, the temporary solution fell short of expectations. Moreover, it was revealed that there was a delay of nearly three hours before the government was informed of the fault.
Acknowledging the severity of the situation, Howard Watson, BT’s chief security and networks officer, issued an apology, emphasizing the company’s commitment to maintaining high standards for the 999 service. Following the outage, BT, Ofcom, and DSIT, along with input from emergency services and government departments, conducted thorough investigations to prevent such incidents in the future.
Michelle Donelan, the secretary of state for science, innovation, and technology, stressed the importance of public safety and announced initiatives to enhance the resilience of the UK’s emergency services. These include a new notification system to ensure a swift, coordinated response among emergency services and the government, as well as a cross-government communication plan to offer centralized public advice during potential disruptions.
Scheduled for implementation by the end of April, these recommendations will be followed by a Cabinet Office exercise to evaluate their effectiveness, aiming to ensure that the UK’s emergency calling system is equipped to handle a wide array of challenges.
