A watchdog has launched a probe into BT after 999 emergency calls were disrupted across the country on Sunday.
Emergency services across the country including the Met were instead forced to advise the public to call the non-emergency 101 number after the BT “system failure” shortly after 8.30am.
On Wednesday, the communications regulator Ofcom said it was launching a probe into whether BT had breached its obligations to prepare for and mitigate the fault.
A BT spokesperson said they would complete an internal investigation into the outage by Thursday. The spokesman said the key findings of that would be made public.
Announcing its investigation, Ofcom said: “Our rules require BT and other providers to take all necessary measures to ensure uninterrupted access to emergency organisations as part of any call services offered.
“They also require providers to take all necessary measures to ensure the fullest possible availability of calls and internet in the event of catastrophic network breakdown or in cases of force majeure.
“Separately, providers are required to take appropriate and proportionate measures to identify and reduce the risks of, and prepare for the occurrence of, anything that compromises the availability, performance or functionality of their network or service.
“Providers are also required to take appropriate and proportionate measures to prevent adverse effects arising from any such compromise. 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.
“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.”The brief fault of around an hour led to the Met, Greater Manchester Police, Hampshire Police, Bedfordshire Police, West Yorkshire Police, West Midlands Police, Norfolk Police, and South Wales Police all advising the public not to call 999.
Several fire and rescue services had also advised members of the public to dial their control rooms directly while the fault was ongoing.
A BT spokesman told the Standard: “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.”
