Page 123 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Ofcom Fines Gigaclear £122,500

Ofcom fined broadband network provider
Gigaclear £122,500 for failing to provide
accurate and reliable caller location
information to emergency services.
Under Ofcom’s rules (called the General
Conditions), when someone calls 112 or
999, their telecoms provider must – to
the extent it is technically feasible –make
accurate and reliable information about the
caller’s location available to the emergency
organisation handling the call, at the time
it is answered. Caller location information
is vital, as it may be needed to ensure an
emergency response is dispatched to
the right place. Gigaclear notified Ofcom
of various issues with its caller location
information for Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) calls between January 2022 and launching the service, and while the service future errors. George Lusty, Ofcom’s
March 2024. During this period, when was live. Additionally, Gigaclear missed Enforcement Director, said: “Providing the
any Gigaclear VoIP customer called 999 an earlier opportunity to identify the issue emergency services with accurate location
or 112, inaccurate information about the by failing to appropriately investigate a data can mean the difference between
caller’s location was made available to customer complaint relating to the issue, life and death. So it’s vital that telecoms
the emergency services. This affected a and closed the case without fixing the companies set up their systems correctly
total of 948 calls. We found that Gigaclear problem. While no members of the public and test them thoroughly to make sure
failed to ensure its third-party supplier reportedly experienced significant harm, we this happens. “We won’t hesitate to hold
had correctly configured the systems take compliance with these requirements companies to account, and Gigaclear fell
that provide caller location information extremely seriously. We have concluded short on a number of basic levels, putting
to emergency organisations. Gigaclear that Gigaclear has breached our rules, its customers at unacceptable risk for a
also failed to carry out effective testing of and we have fined the company £122,500. prolonged period of time.”
caller location information, which would Gigaclear has reconfigured its systems
have likely alerted it to the issues prior to and taken remedial action to prevent

Data Breach Costs SKT Dearly

SK Telecom (SKT) detailed a KRW700 It outlined a four-pronged recovery initiative until end-December to its own and MVNO
billion ($513.7 million) overhaul of its in response. As part its Accountability and customers. Enhanced membership rewards
security systems on the same day Korean Commitment Program, SKT pledged the and service restoration for returning
authorities fined it KRW30 million for major investment over the next five years customers are also included. SKT detailed
negligence in a large-scale data breach to build an information protection system, a plan to offer free access to Zimperium’s
in April. The Ministry of Science and ICT double its security team and reorganize military-grade mobile device security
penalized SKT following a joint public- governance so the CISO reports directly to software to all users for one year and upped
private investigation and ordered the the CEO. A further KRW10 billion fund was the limit on a cybersecurity compensation
operator to conduct quarterly audits, boost established to support local cybersecurity fund from KRW1 billion to KRW100 billion.
internal security resources and assign start-ups and talent development programs The package builds on SKT’s earlier efforts
direct oversight of data governance to the across the country. It also announced a to implement additional security measure.
CEO. SKT was found to have failed to “fulfil KRW500 billion customer compensation Reports indicate SKT lost more than
its duty of care” and “comply with relevant package, which includes a cancellation fee 500,000 customers following the incident:
regulations”. The operator separately waiver for users affected by the breach. SKT as of late last month, it stated it completed
acknowledged the investigation’s findings is offering a 50 per cent discount on bills in 9 million SIM card replacements and resets.
and expressed “deep regret” over the breach. August and 50GB of bonus data from then

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