An outage that affected 911 services in multiple Canadian provinces for about 90 minutes last month was due to an undiscovered software glitch in Bell’s system, the company disclosed in a report on Friday. The incident, which occurred at 3:13 a.m. ET on September 17, impacted regions including Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
The disruption was not a result of a cyber attack or any planned changes, clarified Philippe Gauvin, Bell’s assistant general counsel, in the report submitted to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The issue stemmed from a bug in Bell’s NG9-1-1 system, which is designed to enhance emergency response by enabling the public to provide detailed information to dispatchers.
Bell rectified the problem and restored service by 4:40 a.m., implementing a permanent fix shortly thereafter. The company acknowledged that some calls were missed during the outage, primarily affecting older systems that were not compatible with the upgraded NG9-1-1 technology.
While no critical safety incidents resulted from the missed calls, Bell emphasized its commitment to ensuring the reliability and continual improvement of emergency calling services for Canadians in need. The company expressed regret over the interruption and assured that steps have been taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Additionally, a report released by Bell highlighted that the initial alarms signaling the outage did not prompt an immediate response as expected. Engineers were alerted only after a separate system detected a drop in incoming calls. Bell is investigating the alarm malfunction and has implemented extra monitoring measures as a precaution.
To safeguard against potential security risks, Bell redacted specific details about the software flaw that caused the outage. The company emphasized the importance of protecting the integrity of the 911 network from potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors.
The incident underscored the importance of maintaining a robust emergency response infrastructure. Holly Barkwell, from the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), emphasized the resilience of Canada’s 911 system while acknowledging the inevitability of technological challenges.
The CRTC has mandated the decommissioning of legacy 911 systems across Canada by March 31, with an extension granted until 2027. This move aims to enhance the efficiency and reliability of emergency services nationwide.
