BT Slapped with £17.5 Million Fine Over Catastrophic 999 Outage
British telecom giant BT has been hit with a massive £17.5 million fine by Ofcom after a disastrous 999 service blackout last summer left thousands unable to reach emergency services. The outage lasted over ten hours, blocking more than 12,000 critical emergency calls.
Thousands of Emergency Calls Left Unanswered
On June 25, 2023, BT’s network suffered a major fault from 06:24 to 16:56, knocking out 999 and 112 call connections. Around 14,000 call attempts from 12,392 unique callers simply did not get through, sparking outrage and serious safety concerns.
Ofcom Blasts BT’s ‘Inadequate’ Response and Prep
Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement, Suzanne Cater, slammed BT for being woefully unprepared. She said, “BT fell short of its responsibilities and was ill-equipped to deal with a large-scale outage, putting customers at unacceptable risk.” The watchdog’s year-long probe uncovered no effective warning systems or proper procedures to assess or manage the outage’s severity.
BT also bungled its disaster recovery efforts. The backup system was either insufficient or badly managed due to human error and poor documentation, delaying the restoration of service. Even text relay calls for people with hearing and speech difficulties were disrupted, leaving vulnerable users stranded.
Ofcom Issues Stern Warning to Telecom Firms
Ofcom stressed the potential for deadly consequences, despite no reports of direct harm. “The potential degree of harm was extremely significant,” said the regulator. Thanks to BT’s early admission of guilt and cooperation, the fine was reduced by 30% but must still be paid within two months.
“Today’s fine sends a clear warning to all firms—if you’re not properly prepared to handle network disruptions, we will hold you strictly accountable for consumers’ safety,” Cater concluded.
