The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority FICORA is to determine whether or not the Finnish-Swedish teleoperator TeliaSonera acted in accordance with existing legislation in its handling of a network malfunction Tuesday, according to Communications Minister Krista Kiuru.
“This is a major and very serious issue. Nowadays the legislation places a duty on teleoperators to ensure that connections are uninterrupted and that that there are no disruptions to services,” Kiuru said.
On Tuesday Sonera customers across the country found that text messages and some phone calls didn’t go through, including calls to emergency numbers.
The company said at the time that the service break was due to a system malfunction, however no precise reasons for the network failure have yet been found. Service was restored by 12.30 pm.
Minister: Law requires uninterrupted service
Kiuru pointed out that telecommunications networks must be built according to law to ensure that no malfunctions or anomalies occur.
“If they do occur, there should be the possibility for a backup to ensure uninterrupted traffic and operational continuity. In this regard the network must remain operational in different problem situations,” Kiuru added.
The minister said she was concerned about how the company acted during Tuesday’s disruption, since there was no continuity of service.
“This is quite an important point. So many people found themselves in a situation in which the mobile phone network did not function,” she observed.
“The law requires that connections work and the network is available even in exceptional situations or in cases of malfunctions,” she remarked.
Kiuru said that consumers are entitled to seek compensation for the situation according to the provisions of the Communications Market Act.
However she declined to directly respond to whether or not TeliaSonera’s actions in the current situation were adequate.
The company has tried to reassure consumers that it will implement the necessary software updates to ensure that there is no repeat of Tuesday’s network disruption.
