This Broadband Company Just Got Hammered for Nearly Killing People (Okay, Maybe Not Literally, But Still...)

By HOAR Team 30 July, 2025 5 mins read 229 Views

So here's a fun story that'll make you question everything about your internet provider.

Gigaclear - you know, that broadband company that's supposed to be saving rural England from dial-up hell - just got slapped with a £122,500 fine. Why? Because for over two years, they were basically playing Russian roulette with emergency services. When their customers called 999, the location data was about as accurate as my attempts at parallel parking.

Listen to the Summary

948 Calls. Two Years. One Massive Screw-Up.

Between January 2022 and March 2024, nearly a thousand emergency calls went out with wrong location information. Picture this: you're having a heart attack, you dial 999, and the ambulance shows up three towns over because Gigaclear's system thinks you live where you used to work in 2019.

The whole mess involved VoIP calls - that's Voice over Internet Protocol for those who don't speak tech. Basically, phone calls made through your internet connection instead of traditional phone lines. Modern stuff that apparently nobody at Gigaclear knew how to set up properly.

Ofcom (the telecom watchdog that actually has teeth) wasn't having any of it. George Lusty, their enforcement director, didn't mince words: "Providing the emergency services with accurate location data can mean the difference between life and death."

How Do You Even Mess This Up?

Here's where it gets really stupid. Gigaclear didn't even configure their own systems - they used a third-party supplier. And apparently nobody bothered to check if the setup actually worked. It's like hiring someone to install your smoke detectors and never testing if they go off when there's actual smoke.

Even better? A customer complained about the issue, and Gigaclear basically shrugged it off. Someone literally told them "hey, your emergency system is broken" and they didn't investigate properly.

I mean, come on.

The Silver Lining (If You Can Call It That)

Ofcom says no one actually died or got seriously hurt because of this mess. Which is honestly just dumb luck at this point. 948 calls with wrong location data over two years? That's not a glitch, that's a systematic failure.

The company has since fixed their systems - probably after realizing they were one dead customer away from a much bigger problem than a six-figure fine.

What This Means for You

If you're a Gigaclear customer (and there are over 100,000 of you, apparently), the good news is they've supposedly sorted this out. The bad news is you've been potentially vulnerable for two years without knowing it.

For everyone else? Maybe ask your broadband provider how their emergency location services work. Because clearly, some companies are just winging it and hoping for teh best.

The £122,500 fine was actually reduced by 30% because Gigaclear admitted fault and agreed to settle. Which feels a bit like getting a discount on your speeding ticket because you promised not to speed again, but whatever.

At least the money goes to the Treasury instead of disappearing into Ofcom's coffee fund.

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Statistics

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As of 2021, the median household income in the U.S. was approximately $67,521, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
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A report by Bankrate indicated that only 29% of Americans have a written financial plan.

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How To

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