– Norway must put in place solutions that secure emergency numbers better than today, says director John-Eivind Velure of the National Communications Authority (Nkom) in a press release on Monday. Four times this autumn, Telenor experienced extensive problems that affected both mobile and internet services, and which led to many millions of customers having problems getting through to the emergency numbers. Digitization Minister Karianne Tung called the mistake “completely unacceptable”. Today, only Telenor handles all emergency calls in Norway. Telenor apologized for the error, which was due to a power outage at a switchboard. They stated that they would leave every stone unturned to ensure that it does not happen again. Open supervision The last of the four emergency number incidents occurred on Wednesday 13 November, where it was sometimes difficult to get through to the emergency numbers for six hours during the day. John-Eivind Velure, director of Nkom. Photo: Nkom Director of the National Communications Authority (Nkom) John-Eivind Velure believed that the incident weakened trust in Telenor, and opened an inspection against the telecommunications company. – This is very serious. Of course, the emergency numbers are something you should be able to reach in a crisis situation. It says about life and health, and we are completely dependent on it working, he said during a Dagsnytt 18 broadcast. In an interim report prepared in connection with the follow-up of all four incidents at Telenor, Nkom now recommends that Norway also get emergency number centers at several telecom operators. – Must ensure a safer solution – If the emergency number is down, in the worst case, lives can be lost, says Minister for Digitalization and Administration Karianne Tung. Minister for Digitization and Administration Karianne Tung Photo: Kai Rune Kvitstein / news Tung believes the Nkom report provides a good overview of possible measures to strengthen the security of the emergency number service in Norway. During the last incident in November, the error also led to train delays in several places, due to problems with the communication systems. – In order to get a solution in place quickly, it is important that the Norwegian authorities and industry players work together to ensure Norway a safer solution for the emergency number services, says Velure. Nkom specifically proposes that ESI-net (Emergency Services Network) be established with a functionality called NG112, which stands for the next generation 112, at all emergency services. They write in their report that it is the healthcare system that has come the furthest out of the three emergency services in terms of technical infrastructure. Nkom therefore recommends that such a connection be established in the short term to all the providers – ie Telia and Lyse/Ice. But that it may take some time to introduce such a technical solution. Emergency numbers in other countries In France, all telecommunications operators have a line for the emergency services. In Sweden, a publicly owned company – SOS Alarm – handles 112 as a common number for all emergency services, and accepts emergency calls from all telecom operators. In Belgium, they have recently gone from one to two emergency number providers. In Hungary, there is one provider today – as in Norway – but will have a system with several providers in 2025. In the Netherlands and Portugal, there is one emergency number provider today, but plans to switch to a system with several providers. Source: National Communications Authority (Nkom). Positive for debate Telenor has previously expressed that the company is positive about a debate about a new model for organizing the emergency number service in Norway. Including involving several mobile operators. Birgitte Engebretsen, managing director of Telenor Norge, points out that the emergency number service has become increasingly complex over the years. Photo: Martin Fjellanger / Telenor – It is good that the authorities are taking the initiative to look at how to secure the best possible solution for emergency number services going forward. There is useful experience to be gained from other countries here, says Birgitte Engebretsen, CEO of Telenor Norway. In a press release, Telenor writes on Monday that it is time to make the emergency number service easier. – Over the years, there has been an increasing complexity with many users who have their own requirements and their own solutions connected to the service. This complexity entails vulnerability for the operation of the emergency notification service as it can be demanding to identify and correct errors, says Engebretsen. Published 16.12.2024, at 10.31 Updated 16.12.2024, at 13.10
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