UK telecoms company KCom has been fined GBP 900,000 by Ofcom for emergency-call failure. An investigation by Ofcom found that the company broke an important rule designed to ensure that everyone can contact the emergency services at all times. KCom notified Ofcom in December 2015 that its emergency call service for the Hull area had failed for around four hours due to flooding at a BT exchange in York.
Although the investigation found that KCom did have back-up emergency call routing in place, this also relied on the flooded exchange. Ofcom said that the GBP 900,000 fine reflected the seriousness of the breach and its impact on public health and safety. The fine must be paid within 20 working days.
