Experts call for review of contingency plans for emergency hotlines

Diversity of communication options across service providers should be tapped: IMDA

- Osmond Chia

Risk experts have called for a review of contingency plans among emergency hotline operators after an unprecedented hours-long Singtel outage cut off calls to the police, paramedics, fire department and other public lines on Oct 8.

Pointing to the diversity of communication options, sector regulator Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) told The Straits Times that the voice, mobile, broadband, Wi-Fi and messaging services across different service providers here should be harnessed as part of contingency plans.

The disruption on Oct 8 lasted more than three hours before services progressively resumed in the evening.

The hotlines of the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and police, as well as those of public hospitals, banks, Changi Airport and SimplyGo did not have a dial tone.

Some experts pointed to call forwarding as a possible solution as it can automatically redirect incoming calls to an alternative line in the event the emergency lines cannot be reached because they are either engaged or broken.

Commonly used in call centres, call forwarding makes it simple for callers as they do not need to remember alternative numbers.