Closed
Gigaclear Limited
11 October 2024
30 July 2025
We are investigating whether Gigaclear Limited (Gigaclear) failed to provide accurate and reliable caller location information to emergency organisations between January 2022 and March 2024.
General Conditions A3.5, A3.6(a), C6.4(a) and C6.6
Ofcom has issued a Confirmation Decision to Gigaclear Limited (Gigaclear) under section 96C of the Communications Act 2003 in respect of this investigation.
Ofcom opened the investigation into Gigaclear, following its notification to us of issues concerning its provision of caller location information to emergency organisations. We have found that between January 2022 and 11 March 2024, Gigaclear provided either inaccurate caller location information, or no caller location information, to emergency organisations for all emergency calls made by its VoIP customers. This affected a total of 948 calls to emergency organisations.
As a result, our investigation has found that Gigaclear has breached General Conditions A3.5 and A3.6(a). We consider this to be a serious breach of these conditions, which are set by Ofcom to ensure that emergency organisations are provided with accurate information about a caller’s location, wherever possible. This information is important because it helps assist the relevant emergency services in locating a person requiring emergency assistance.
Our investigation found that Gigaclear failed to test or monitor the availability of accurate caller location information to emergency organisations, prior to launching its VoIP service and while the service was live. Gigaclear also failed to ensure its third-party supplier configured the systems involved in the provision of caller location information to emergency organisations correctly. Gigaclear missed an earlier opportunity to identify the issues by failing to appropriately investigate a customer complaint it received in 2023 concerning caller location information.
Gigaclear has since taken action to remedy the contravention and ensure accurate caller location information is now made available for calls to emergency organisations.
We are imposing a penalty of £122,500 on Gigaclear. This penalty was set having regard for our Penalty Guidelines and includes a 30% discount as a result of Gigaclear’s admission of liability and its completion of Ofcom’s settlement process.
As part of this investigation, we also considered Gigaclear’s compliance with General Conditions C6.4(a) and C6.6 concerning calling line identification facilities. As a matter of administrative priority, we have decided not to pursue making findings in relation General Conditions C6.4(a) and C6.6.
We have published a non-confidential version of the decision.
On further consideration of the information provided, it is Ofcom’s view that, in addition to General Conditions A3.5 and A3.6(a), Ofcom has reason to consider Gigaclear’s compliance with General Conditions C6.4(a) (GC C6.4(a)) and C6.6 (GC C6.6).
GC C6.4(a) requires that, when providing calling line identification facilities, regulated providers must ensure, so far as technically feasible, that any calling line identification data provided with and/or associated with a call includes a valid, dialable telephone number which uniquely identifies the caller.
GC C6.6 requires that, where technically feasible, regulated providers must: take all reasonable steps to identify calls, other than calls to emergency organisations, in relation to which the calling line identification data provided is invalid, does not uniquely identify the caller, or does not contain a telephone number that is dialable; and prevent those calls from being connected to the called party, where such calls are identified.
These conditions are part of the requirements on communications providers to provide calling line identification facilities, so that call recipients can identify the person calling them and choose whether or not to accept the call.
We have widened the scope of our investigation to additionally consider Gigaclear’s compliance with GC C6.4(a) and C6.6, as we establish the facts surrounding this matter.
Ofcom has today opened an investigation into Gigaclear’s compliance with General Conditions A3.5 (GC A3.5) and A3.6(a) (GC A3.6(a)). This follows Gigaclear’s notification to Ofcom of various issues with its caller location information between January 2022 and 11 March 2024.
GC A3.5 requires that regulated providers, to the extent technically feasible, make accurate and reliable caller location information available for all calls to the emergency call numbers “112” and “999” at no charge to end-users and the emergency organisations handling those calls, at the time the call is answered by those organisations.
GC A3.6(a) requires that, in order to make accurate and reliable caller location information available to the emergency organisations handling the calls to “112” and “999”, regulated providers must comply with certain requirements. Where providers offer an electronic communications service at a fixed location, the caller location information must, at least, accurately reflect the fixed location of the end-user’s terminal equipment including the full postal address.
Ofcom’s investigation will seek to establish the facts surrounding this matter and examine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that Gigaclear has failed to comply with its regulatory obligations.
Enforcement team (enforcement@ofcom.org.uk)
CW/01287/09/24