Stephen Joyce

Telecom and the Government have agreed to improve how the 111 service is managed in a Memorandum of Understanding signed today.

An outage earlier this year sparked an inquiry into the management of 111 calls.

About 30 emergency calls failed to get through after a fault at Telecom's exchange at Papatoetoe, south Auckland, on February 26.

Communications and Information Technology Minister Steven Joyce said today's memorandum bought together the main elements of Telecom's 111 roles in a single overall agreement and clarified the company's responsibilities.

"It provides for improved co-ordination of planning for the 111 service and sets out a timeframe for a co-operative review of governance of the 111 service by the end of this year."

Under the agreement Telecom would report regularly on how it was handling 111 calls and whether it was meeting key service measures. The Government would also have increased scrutiny over Telecom's management documentation for the 111 system, Mr Joyce said.

Work would be done on a long-term governance model for 111 service.

"This will be developed by the Crown in consultation with emergency service providers, telecommunications industry service providers, and Telecom."

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