BT has been hit with a £17.5 million penalty by telecom regulator Ofcom for failing to meet quality standards in its emergency call handling service last summer.
Ofcom said the significant fine underscores the critical nature of BT’s role in managing emergency communications for maintaining public safety in the UK.
Incident Overview
On Sunday, June 25, 2023, BT experienced a major network fault that impaired its ability to connect 999 and 112 emergency calls between 06:24 and 16:56. The incident affected nearly 14,000 call attempts from 12,392 unique callers. As per legal requirements, BT reported the issue to Ofcom, which subsequently launched an investigation on June 28, 2023.
Investigation Findings
Ofcom’s investigation concluded that BT failed to adhere to its legal obligations to ensure adequate measures for preventing and mitigating network disruptions. The key points of failure identified were:
Insufficient Warning Systems: BT lacked effective warning systems for detecting and responding to such incidents.
Inadequate Procedures: There were no robust procedures for promptly assessing the severity, impact, and causes of the disruption, nor for identifying mitigating actions.
Disaster Recovery Shortcomings: BT’s disaster recovery platform was found to be under-capacity and insufficiently functional to handle expected levels of demand during such crises.
Impact on Vulnerable Users
The incident also disrupted text relay calls, critically affecting deaf and speech-impaired individuals, leaving them unable to make any calls, including emergency ones. This posed a significant risk to their safety and well-being.
Incident Breakdown
The incident unfolded in three phases:
Phase 1 (06:24 – 07:33): A configuration error on BT’s server disrupted the call handling system, causing calls to drop, agents to be logged out, and calls to be queued improperly. BT initially struggled to identify the cause and attempted to switch to the disaster recovery platform.
Phase 2 (07:33 – 08:50): The first switch attempt to the disaster recovery platform failed due to human error stemming from poorly documented instructions and an unfamiliar team, resulting in a total outage.
Phase 3 (08:50 – 16:56): After migrating traffic to the disaster recovery platform, the rate of unsuccessful calls decreased. However, full service was not immediately restored as the platform struggled with the high demand.
BT’s Response and Future Measures
In response to Ofcom’s findings and the penalty, BT has committed to overhauling its emergency call handling systems and disaster recovery protocols to prevent future incidents. This includes upgrading its infrastructure, enhancing staff training, and improving its incident response procedures.
