UK communications regulator Ofcom has fined BT £42,500 for providing inaccurate information in response to a request about EE’s broadband service availability.
The data was supplied to help Ofcom estimate how many premises might be eligible for a 10Mbps or faster broadband connection under the Universal Service Obligation (USO), which became active in March 2020.
Ofcom initially published these figures in its 2019 ‘Connected Nations’ report, which summarised broadband and mobile network coverage across the UK.
Most of the information BT submitted in October 2019 was accurate, but the company misinterpreted one question asking for properties that could be served by its fixed wireless access network.
Specifically, BT’s response did not exclude properties located near high-traffic areas — for example, busy train stations — which should have been omitted from the count because such locations can suffer from constrained capacity.
As a result, the original Connected Nations report understated the number of premises without access to 10Mbps broadband: it reported roughly 155,000 premises when the correct figure should have been about 189,000.
BT says it alerted Ofcom to the error as soon as it became aware of the misreporting. After receiving the corrected information, Ofcom published an updated report on 18 March 2020 with revised estimates.
The £42,500 penalty includes a 15% reduction because BT agreed to settle the investigation and admitted full liability.
BT has committed to improving its engagement with Ofcom to reduce the risk of similar mistakes in future and to ensure data submitted to regulators is clearer and more accurate.
Find out more about Digital Transformation Week North America, taking place on November 9-10 2021, a virtual event and conference exploring advanced DTX strategies for a ‘digital everything’ world.