Ofcom launches probe into BT after 999 system collapsed and emergency callers were told they should visit their nearest fire station if they needed help
- Watchdog will determine whether BT failed to comply with its regulatory duties
- Emergency calls in some areas of the UK were hit by outages on Sunday
- Norfolk Council’s ‘visit fire station’ tweet is met with derision from residents
The communications watchdog has launched an investigation into BT after technical faults hampered the 999 emergency call service on Sunday.
Ofcom said it will look into the incident to determine whether the telecoms giant failed to comply with its regulatory duties.
Emergency calls in some areas of the UK were hit by outages from around 8.30am, which prevented the calls from connecting to an operator, with one council tweeting that those seeking firefighters’ help should ‘visit your nearest fire station’.
BT, which manages the 999 phone network, switched to a back-up system at around 10am but some services continued to report delays in calls being received.
The Metropolitan Police said the back-up system was not as effective at locating callers.
Met Police posted on Twitter : ‘Due to a technical fault that is impacting a number of police forces, many 999 calls are not connecting’ (file image)
Norfolk County Council tweeted that anyone in need of assistance should attend a fire station, much to the surprise of Norfolk locals
Norfolk residents responded to the bizarre tweet earlier today, with some joking that they would have to drag their burning house to the fire station for assistance
BT apologised ‘sincerely’ for the UK-wide disruption and said the issues were resolved by Monday evening.
Under Ofcom’s rules, BT and other network providers must take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations as part of the call services they offer.
They must also do what they can to prevent and prepare for systems breaking down or technical faults.
READ MORE: Government launches probe into 999 call system failure after nation-wide technical fault meant emergency calls couldn’t be made (with one council telling anyone battling home fires to VISIT their local fire stations instead)
‘Where there is an adverse effect on the network or service, the provider must take appropriate and proportionate measures to remedy or mitigate that effect’, Ofcom said.
‘Our investigation will seek to establish the facts surrounding the incident and examine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that BT has failed to comply with its regulatory obligations.’
BT said it is undertaking its own investigation into the incident alongside Ofcom’s investigation.
A spokesman for BT Group said: ‘We’re nearing the end of a full, internal investigation and expect to share the findings with Government, the emergency services and Ofcom (with whom we are in regular contact) by Thursday.
‘This will examine the technical aspects of what triggered Sunday’s incident, the process of moving over to the back-up system, and the timings of communications to the emergency services, Ofcom and Government.
‘In the interests of transparency, we will share the key findings publicly at the same time, subject to the removal of any information that remains confidential for critical national infrastructure.’
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