Telecoms firm handed £900,000 fine after emergency call failure

Hull telecoms firm KCOM has been fined nearly £1m by watchdog Ofcom after it uncovered a “serious weakness” in its emergency call network

KCOM, which operates the main broadband and telephone networks in Hull, had serious issues with its emergency call service back in December 2015.

It reported to Ofcom that on 28th of that month, its emergency call service had been down for about four hours due to to flooding at one of BT’s telephone exchanges in York, in the wake of Storm Eva.

It said that 74 calls to emergency numbers 999 and 112 from 34 different phone numbers failed to connect during this period.

Ofcom’s investigation found that all emergency calls from customers in the Hull area relied on the flooded telephone exchange in York.

Ofcom said it expected telecommunications firm’s emergency call service to be “resilient” and able to automatically divert calls to backup routes.

It said that the £900,000 fine reflected the seriousness of this breach, and its impact on public health and safety. It expects KCOM to pay the fine within 20 working days.

Gaucho Rasmussen, Ofcom’s Enforcement and Investigations Director, said: “Ofcom rules mean that people must be able to call the emergency services around the clock.

“Any failure to connect 999 calls is extremely serious. Today’s fine serves as a clear warning to the telecoms industry that it must prioritise access to the emergency services, no matter what the circumstances.”

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