Ofcom examines BT and Three over major mobile outages affecting 999 calls

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has opened an investigation into BT and Three after widespread mobile network outages disrupted emergency call connections and affected customers nationwide. The incidents, which occurred in June and July, left thousands of users unable to make or receive calls. Three’s outage stemmed from a software configuration change that caused a surge in network traffic, while BT and its subsidiary EE experienced similar issues a month later. Both companies have issued apologies and pledged full cooperation with Ofcom.

Ofcom’s inquiry will assess whether the two telecom providers took adequate steps to prevent these failures and to mitigate their impact on customers and emergency services. Under UK regulations, telecom operators are required to ensure the resilience and availability of their networks to avoid compromising vital communications.

The regulator’s scrutiny comes after previous incidents involving both companies. In July 2024, BT was fined £17.5 million following a catastrophic failure in its emergency call handling system, while Three faced a £1.9 million penalty in 2017 for preventable service disruptions. The investigation gains further importance given that Three recently merged with Vodafone, creating the UK’s largest mobile network with around 27 million customers. Industry analysts stress the importance of reliable connectivity and learning from these failures to strengthen network infrastructure in the future.