Investigation into BT’s (including EE’s) (“BT”) compliance with its regulatory obligations under section 105A(4) of the Communications Act 2003 and General Conditions A3.2(b), A3.5 and A3.6

5 October 2020

Closed

Investigation into British Telecommunications plc (BT)
Case opened 19 September 2019
Case closed 5 October 2020
Summary

We examined whether BT has complied with its obligations under section 105A(4) of the Communications Act 2003 and the General Conditions A3.2(b), A3.5 and A3.6 with regards to the network outage experienced on 21 May 2019. We concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that BT/EE had contravened its obligations and have therefore closed this case.

Relevant legal provision(s)

Section 105A(4) of the Communications Act 2003 and the General Conditions A3.2(b), A3.5 and A3.6

We have concluded our investigation into BT Group/EE Ltd regarding compliance with section 105A(4) of the Communications Act 2003, and Ofcom General Conditions A3.2b, A3.5 and A3.6. These provisions require providers to ensure customers have continued access to their networks – including the ability to call emergency services.

This investigation followed a mobile network outage in 2019, which affected customers on the EE network. After reviewing a substantial body of evidence gathered in our investigation, we did not find anything to suggest that BT/EE had contravened its obligations and have therefore closed this case.

Nevertheless, this incident highlights the need for providers to regularly review the measures they have in place to protect their networks and manage potential risks, so customers can continue to access their services whenever they need to.


Contact

Enforcement team (enforcement@ofcom.org.uk)

Case reference cw/01249/07/19