Ofcom slaps Kcom with £900k fine over emergency-line breaches

Regulator Ofcom has fined KCOM £900,000 after uncovering "serious weaknesses" in the telecommunications company's emergency-call service.

An Ofcom investigation found that KCOM, which operates the main telephone and broadband network in Kingston-upon-Hull had broken rules designed to ensure individuals can contact emergency services at all times.

On December 28, 2015, flooding at one of BT's exchanges in York caused 74 attempted emergency calls to either 999 or 112 to fail to connect.

In accordance with Ofcom regulations, KCOM were required to have backup routes in place allowing emergency calls to be redirected via other exchanges. While the investigation did show that telecom provider did have these back-ups in place, they too were also reliant on the flooded exchange in York.

“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,” said Gaucho Rasmussen, director of enforcement and investigations at Ofcom.

Ofcom ruled that KCOM had breached requirements put in place to ensure constant and uninterrupted access to emergency services and imposed a penalty of £900,000 to be paid within 20 working days, before being passed on to Her Majesty's Treasury.

As of 1110 BST, KCOM shares had seen little change, down 0.03p to 92.72p.