• ThousandEyes’ latest report reveals a 7% rise in the global network outage in early December.
• The company highlights the importance of network resilience.

The reliability of global internet infrastructure is crucial for keeping businesses, governments, and individuals online. ThousandEyes, a Cisco company, has been monitoring network performance across ISPs, cloud providers, and collaboration networks and has provided a detailed weekly analysis of outages. The most recent report, which covers the period from December 9 to 15, 2024, reveals some intriguing trends.

ThousandEyes recorded 205 global network outages during this period, a 7% increase from the previous week’s total of 192. In contrast, the US reported an 11% decrease in outages, dropping from 123 to 109. The shifts reflect a complex and dynamic global connectivity landscape.

ISP outages see mixed trends globally and locally

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) reported a 25% increase in global disruptions, from 80 to 100 incidents. However, the US saw only a slight rise, with outages rising from 46 to 50—a 9% increase.

This disparity may be attributed to regional variations in traffic demands or the implementation of effective mitigation measures in specific markets. While global networks felt the strain, relative stability in the US offers a silver lining for enterprises relying on domestic connectivity for remote workers.

A drop in outages brings relief

For organisations dependent on cloud services, the report brought encouraging news. Globally, cloud provider outages decreased by 22%, dropping from 55 to 43. The US mirrored this trend with an even sharper decline of 23%, as outages fell from 43 to 33.

This consistent drop indicates that cloud providers are investing heavily in redundancy and resilience, addressing potential weak points before they impact users. However, the fluctuating numbers remind businesses that no infrastructure is entirely immune to disruption.

Collaboration networks hold strong

Collaboration app networks—critical for remote work and global operations—demonstrated impressive reliability for the second consecutive week. Both globally and in the US, the report recorded zero outages.

The consistency highlights the effectiveness of modern collaborative tools. Providers in this space appear to have mastered scalable infrastructures and robust failover mechanisms, resulting in minimal disruptions for end users.

Major outages serve as a reality check

While overall trends showed improvement in some areas, two significant outages during the week highlighted vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure:

Lumen Outage (December 14):

A Tier 1 carrier, Lumen, experienced a 48-minute outage that impacted users in the US, India, and Brazil. The issue, traced to nodes in Los Angeles, affected downstream partners and customers before being resolved.

Cogent Communications Outage (December 14):

Cogent, another Tier 1 provider, experienced occasional disruptions that lasting more than an hour. The outage, centred on Miami nodes, spread to several locations, including Argentina and the US, showing how localised issues can have global implications.

The incidents serve as reminders that even the most advanced providers are not immune to cascading effects in interconnected networks.

Lessons from recent trends

A broader review of past reports reveals how unpredictable network performance may be. For example, from November 25 to December 1, global outages dropped by 47%, followed by a subsequent rebound in numbers of outages. These swings are frequently caused by seasonal internet traffic, maintenance schedules, and even geopolitical factors.

Such variability highlights the importance of adaptive strategies for businesses and service providers alike. Maintaining operational continuity in this environment requires both foresight and flexibility.

Key takeaways for enterprises

ThousandEyes’ analysis offers key lessons for organisations:

• Stay proactive: Monitoring tools are essential for identifying vulnerabilities across ISPs, cloud providers, and edge networks. Enterprises should prioritise visibility into their network dependencies.
• Invest in redundancy: Trends in cloud provider outages demonstrate the importance of resilient architectures. Organisations can apply similar principles to their own infrastructure.
• Tailor regional strategies: The contrast between global and US trends underscores the importance of region-specific approaches. Different markets face unique challenges, making one-size-fits-all solutions ineffective.

Preparing for 2024 and beyond

Ensuring reliable connectivity will remain a top priority for enterprises and service providers in the coming year. ThousandEyes’ weekly reports provide an important record of global network health, enabling stakeholders to anticipate challenges and refine their strategies.

From ISP reliability to the resilience of collaboration platforms, these observations emphasise the importance of vigilance and adaptability.