Ofcom imposed a £17.5 million fine on BT due to technical issues that led to the loss of 14,000 emergency calls over 11 hours last summer.
BT operates the UK’s emergency services call system, routing 999 calls to emergency centers for operator transfer. However, on June 25 of last year, a network fault disrupted almost 14,000 emergency calls. BT reported the incident to Ofcom as required by law. The company’s spokesperson expressed deep regret for the distress caused by the outage.
“We found that BT did not have sufficient warning systems in place for when this kind of incident occurs, nor did it have adequate procedures for promptly assessing the severity, impact and likely cause of any such incident or for identifying mitigating actions,” confirmed Ofcom in its statement.
Further, Ofcom noted inadequacies in BT’s disaster recovery platform, highlighting its insufficient capacity and functionality to handle expected demand levels. Consequently, Ofcom issued a hefty fine and mandated measures to prevent future occurrences.
Interestingly, the lack of severe public harm influenced the fine amount. The incident serves as a stern reminder to all network providers about the importance of robust emergency systems.
“Today’s fine sends a broader warning to all firms -– if you’re not properly prepared to deal with disruption to your networks, we’ll hold you to strict account on behalf of consumers,” added Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement.
This incident underscores the critical nature of telecom infrastructure and its impact on public safety. While the fine may seem substantial, it reflects the paramount importance of reliability in emergency communication services. The enforcement action by Ofcom is a wake-up call for all telecom providers to bolster their network resilience.
