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Ofcom fined BT £17.5 million on 22 July 2024 after finding that the company was not adequately prepared for a major failure of its Emergency Call Handling Service (ECHS), which connects people calling 999 or 112 to emergency services. The disruption on 25 June 2023 lasted about 10.5 hours, including a complete outage of approximately one hour, and involved nearly 14,000 unsuccessful call attempts from 12,392 callers.
What happened during the BT emergency-call outage?
The failure affected BT’s Emergency Call Handling Service, not necessarily every BT phone, broadband or business service. The ECHS receives emergency communications and transfers them to the relevant authorities. The outage also affected text relay, an access route used by deaf and speech-impaired people.
Ofcom said the disruption ran from approximately 06:24 to 16:56 on Sunday, 25 June 2023. Nearly 14,000 emergency-call attempts from 12,392 callers were unsuccessful. The whole period was not a total outage: Ofcom identified a complete outage of about one hour, followed by a period when the backup platform was operating but struggled with demand. Ofcom’s case page sets out the distinction.
How the failure unfolded
06:24–07:33: Calls disrupted by a configuration error
A configuration error in a server file caused call-handling agents’ systems to restart when calls arrived. Agents were logged out; calls could be dropped during transfer or returned to the queue.
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07:33–08:50: The first switch to disaster recovery failed
BT’s initial attempt to move the service to its disaster-recovery platform did not succeed. Ofcom attributed this to human error, poorly documented instructions and staff unfamiliarity with the procedure. The incident escalated into a complete system outage.
08:50–16:56: Backup service restored, but capacity was strained
BT successfully migrated traffic to the backup platform, but that system initially struggled with the volume of calls. Normal service was not restored immediately. The sequence shows why having a backup is not enough: it also needs to be activatable by staff under pressure and able to handle realistic demand.
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What Ofcom found BT had done wrong
Ofcom’s case was broader than the configuration error that triggered the incident. It found that BT had not taken appropriate and proportionate measures to prepare for a serious compromise to the availability, performance or functionality of its service. In this regulatory context, a “security compromise” does not necessarily mean a cyberattack; Ofcom identified a configuration error as the trigger.
The regulator found shortcomings in BT’s preparation, detection, incident management and recovery arrangements. In particular, BT had not sufficiently:
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- maintained clearly defined and tested procedures for identifying, assessing and addressing security compromises;
- provided a backup system with adequate capacity and functionality to limit the impact and support recovery;
- maintained adequate warning systems;
- assessed the incident’s severity, impact and likely cause quickly; or
- identified and implemented mitigating action promptly.
Ofcom found contraventions of section 105A(1)(c) of the Communications Act 2003 and regulation 9 of the Electronic Communications (Security Measures) Regulations 2022. These duties require public electronic-communications providers to take appropriate and proportionate measures to prepare for incidents that compromise their networks or services. The investigation also considered relevant Ofcom General Conditions concerning emergency access and network resilience. Ofcom’s investigation-opening notice describes the initial scope.
What was the risk to callers and disabled users?
Ofcom reported no confirmed reports from emergency authorities of serious harm caused by the outage. That is not the same as establishing that nobody was harmed, nor does it make the failure harmless: an unsuccessful call during a medical emergency, fire or crime can have severe consequences.
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The disruption also affected text relay calls, potentially preventing deaf and speech-impaired users from contacting emergency and non-emergency numbers, including friends, businesses and services. Ofcom also examined possible effects on emergency video relay and mobile SMS access to emergency organisations. These accessible routes matter because a caller may depend on them to communicate at all. Ofcom explains the role of emergency video relay.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why was BT fined £17.5 million?
Ofcom described the failure publicly as “catastrophic”; its formal decision found a very serious breach of BT’s security and resilience duties. The regulator considered the duration and seriousness of the disruption, the number and nature of affected calls, the potential degree of harm, BT’s size and experience, and the fact that matters within BT’s control prolonged the incident. It also took account of BT’s remedial work, self-reporting, cooperation, admission of liability and settlement.
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Ofcom set the penalty at £25 million before applying a 30% reduction because BT admitted liability and completed the settlement process, bringing the fine to £17.5 million. The penalty was payable to Ofcom and passed to HM Treasury; it was not compensation paid directly to callers. The official non-confidential Confirmation Decision details Ofcom’s reasoning.
What BT changed and what the record does not establish
Ofcom said BT fixed the configuration error, improved fault monitoring and its disaster-recovery platform, documented a clearer switching process, and introduced measures intended to prevent a recurrence and reduce the impact of a future ECHS compromise. These are reported remedial measures, not a guarantee that another outage is impossible.
The available official material confirms the penalty and the remediation, but does not establish a general compensation scheme for everyone whose call attempt was affected. Ofcom opened its investigation on 28 June 2023 after BT notified the regulator, issued its Confirmation Decision and announced the fine on 22 July 2024, then published the non-confidential decision on 24 September 2024.
Why the case matters for emergency-service resilience
The enforcement case illustrates a practical distinction between nominal redundancy and usable resilience. A backup system has value only if it can be switched on reliably, staff can follow clear and tested procedures, monitoring identifies trouble early, and the system has sufficient capacity and functionality under real demand. Ofcom’s findings show that these operational safeguards—not simply the existence of a second platform—were central to its assessment of BT’s preparation.
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