The reliability of services delivered by ISPs, cloud providers and conferencing services is critical for enterprise organizations. ThousandEyes, a Cisco company, monitors how providers are handling any performance challenges and provides Network World with a weekly roundup of events that impact service delivery. Read on to see the latest analysis, and stop back next week for another update on the performance of cloud providers and ISPs.
Note: We have archived prior-year outage updates, including our 2024 report, 2023 report and Covid-19 coverage.
Internet report for Feb. 3-9
ThousandEyes reported 353 global network outage events across ISPs, cloud service provider networks, collaboration app networks and edge networks (including DNS, content delivery networks, and security as a service) during the week of Feb. 3-9. That’s up 7% from 331 outages the week prior. Specific to the U.S., there were 210 outages, which up 12% from 188 outages the week prior. Here’s a breakdown by category:
ISP outages: Globally, total ISP outages increased from 126 to 173 outages, a 37% increase compared to the week prior. In the U.S., ISP outages increased from 65 to 86, a 32% increase.
Public cloud network outages: Globally, cloud provider network outages decreased from 144 to 124 outages. In the U.S., however, cloud provider network outages increased from 88 to 96 outages.
Collaboration app network outages: Both globally and in the U.S., collaboration application network outages remained at zero for the second week in a row.
Two notable outages
On February 5, Lumen, a U.S. based Tier 1 carrier, experienced an outage that affected customers and downstream partners across multiple regions including the U.S., Canada, and Singapore. The outage, lasting a total of 35 minutes over a forty-five-minute period, was first observed around 3:30 AM EST and appeared to initially be centered on Lumen nodes located in Seattle, WA. Around five minutes into the outage, the nodes located in Seattle, WA were joined by nodes located in Los Angeles, CA, in exhibiting outage conditions. This increase in the number and location of nodes exhibiting outage conditions appeared to coincide with the peak in terms of the number of impacted regions, downstream partners, and customers. A further five minutes later, the nodes located in Los Angeles, CA, appeared to clear, leaving only the nodes located in Seattle, WA, in exhibiting outage conditions. The outage was cleared around 4:15 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
On February 6, Internap, a U.S. based cloud service provider, experienced an outage that impacted many of its downstream partners and customers within the U.S. The outage, lasting a total of one hour and 14 minutes, over a one hour and 28-minute period, was first observed around 12:15 AM EST and appeared to be centered on Internap nodes located in Boston, MA. The outage was at its peak around one hour and 10 minutes after being observed, with the highest number of impacted partners, and customers. The outage was cleared around 1:45 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
Internet report for Jan. 27-Feb. 2
ThousandEyes reported 331 global network outage events across ISPs, cloud service provider networks, collaboration app networks and edge networks (including DNS, content delivery networks, and security as a service) during the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. That’s down 16% from 395 outages the week prior. Specific to the U.S., there were 188 outages, which down 4% from 195 outages the week prior. Here’s a breakdown by category:
ISP outages: Globally, total ISP outages decreased from 199 to 126 outages, a 37% decrease compared to the week prior. In the U.S., ISP outages decreased slightly from 67 to 65, a 3% decrease.
Public cloud network outages: Globally, cloud provider network outages increased slightly from 142 to 144 outages. In the U.S., however, cloud provider network outages decreased from 110 to 88 outages.
Collaboration app network outages: Both globally and in the U.S., collaboration application network outages dropped down to zero.
Two notable outages
On January 29, Arelion (formerly known as Telia Carrier), a global Tier 1 provider headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, experienced an outage that impacted customers and downstream partners across multiple regions, including the U.S., Australia, Argentina, Belgium, Bahrain, Germany, France, Brazil, India, Peru, Mexico, and Guatemala. The disruption, which lasted a total of 24 minutes over a 55-minute period, was first observed around 12:40 PM EST and appeared to initially center on nodes located in Dallas, TX, and Ghent, Belgium. Fifteen minutes after appearing to clear, the nodes located in Dallas, TX, began exhibiting outage conditions again. Around 12:20 PM EST, the nodes located in Dallas, TX, were joined by nodes located in Atlanta, GA, in exhibiting outage conditions. This rise in nodes and locations exhibiting outage conditions also appeared to coincide with an increase in the number of downstream customers, partners, and regions impacted. The outage was cleared around 1:35 PM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
On February 2, Cogent Communications, a multinational transit provider based in the U.S., experienced an outage that affected customers and downstream partners across multiple regions including the U.S., Poland, and Spain. The outage, lasting a total of 22 minutes, was first observed around 3:10 AM EST and appeared to initially center on nodes located in Washington, D.C. Fifteen minutes after first being observed, the nodes located in Washington, D.C., appeared to clear and were replaced by nodes located in Miami, FL, in exhibiting outage conditions. A further five minutes later, the nodes located in Miami, FL, were joined by nodes located in Atlanta, GA, in exhibiting outage conditions. This increase in nodes exhibiting outage conditions appeared to coincide with an increase in the number of impacted downstream partners and customers. The outage was cleared around 3:55 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
Internet report for Jan. 20-26
ThousandEyes reported 395 global network outage events across ISPs, cloud service provider networks, collaboration app networks and edge networks (including DNS, content delivery networks, and security as a service) during the week of Jan. 20-26. That’s up 20% from 328 outages the week prior. Specific to the U.S., there were 195 outages, which up 24% from 157 outages the week prior. Here’s a breakdown by category:
ISP outages: Globally, total ISP outages increased slightly from 186 to 199 outages, a 7% increase compared to the week prior. In the U.S., ISP outages increased from 53 to 67, a 26% increase.
Public cloud network outages: Globally, cloud provider network outages jumped from 76 to 142 outages. In the U.S., cloud provider network outages increased from 69 to 110 outages.
Collaboration app network outages: Globally, collaboration application network outages remained unchanged from the week prior, recording 1 outage. In the U.S., collaboration application network outages dropped to zero.
Two notable outages
On January 24, Lumen, a U.S. based Tier 1 carrier, experienced an outage that affected customers and downstream partners across multiple regions including the U.S., Italy, Canada, France, India, the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands. The outage, lasting a total of 37 minutes, over a period of 45 minutes, was first observed around 1:20 AM EST and appeared to be centered on Lumen nodes located in New York, NY. Around five minutes into the outage, a number of Lumen nodes exhibiting outage conditions in New York, NY, appeared to reduce. This drop in the number of nodes exhibiting outage conditions appeared to coincide with a decrease in the number of impacted downstream partners, and customers. The outage was cleared around 7:05 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
On January 23, AT&T, U.S.-based telecommunications company, experienced an outage on its network that impacted AT&T customers and partners across the U.S. The outage, lasting a total of 13 minutes over a 20-minute period, was first observed around 10:35 AM EST and appeared to center on AT&T nodes located in Dallas, TX. Around 15 minutes after first being observed, the number of nodes exhibiting outage conditions located in Dallas, TX, appeared to reduce. This decrease in nodes exhibiting outage conditions appeared to coincide with a drop in the number of impacted partners and customers. The outage was cleared at around 10:35 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
Internet report for Jan. 13-19
ThousandEyes reported 328 global network outage events across ISPs, cloud service provider networks, collaboration app networks and edge networks (including DNS, content delivery networks, and security as a service) during the week of Jan. 13-19. That’s up 11% from 296 outages the week prior. Specific to the U.S., there were 157 outages, which up 34% from 117 outages the week prior. Here’s a breakdown by category:
ISP outages: Globally, total ISP outages increased slightly from 182 to 186 outages, a 2% increase compared to the week prior. In the U.S., ISP outages increased from 40 to 53, a 33% increase.
Public cloud network outages: Globally, cloud provider network outages increased from 72 to 76 outages. In the U.S., cloud provider network outages increased from 54 to 69 outages.
Collaboration app network outages: Globally, and in the U.S., collaboration application network outages dropped from two outages to one.
Two notable outages
On January 15, Lumen, a U.S. based Tier 1 carrier (previously known as CenturyLink), experienced an outage that affected customers and downstream partners across multiple regions including the U.S., Hong Kong, Germany, Canada, the U.K., Chile, Colombia, Austria, India, Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Singapore, Japan, South Africa, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Peru, Norway, Argentina, Turkey, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Egypt, the Philippines, Italy, Sweden, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, and Mexico. The outage, lasting a total of one hour and 5 minutes over a nearly three-hour period, was first observed around 5:02 AM EST and appeared to initially be centered on Lumen nodes located in Dallas, TX. Around one hour after appearing to clear, nodes located in Dallas, TX, began exhibiting outage conditions again, this time joined by Lumen nodes located in San Jose, CA, Washington, D.C., Chicago. IL, New York, NY, London, England, Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, Sacramento, CA, Fresno, CA, Seattle, WA, Santa Clara, CA, and Colorado Springs, CO, in exhibiting outage conditions. This increase in the number and location of nodes exhibiting outage conditions appeared to coincide with the peak in terms of the number of regions and downstream partners, and customers impacted. The outage was cleared around 7:25 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
On January 16, Hurricane Electric, a network transit provider headquartered in Fremont, CA, experienced an outage that impacted customers and downstream partners across multiple regions, including the U.S., Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the U.K., Canada, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Germany. The outage, lasting 22 minutes, was first observed around 2:28 AM EST and initially appeared to center on Hurricane Electric nodes located in Chicago, IL. Five minutes into the outage, the nodes located in Chicago, IL, were joined by Hurricane Electric nodes located in Portland, OR, Seattle, WA, and Ashburn, VA, in exhibiting outage conditions. This coincided with an increase in the number of downstream partners and countries impacted. Around 12 minutes into the outage, all nodes, except those located in Chicago, IL, appeared to clear. The outage was cleared at around 2:55 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
Internet report for Jan. 6-12
ThousandEyes reported 296 global network outage events across ISPs, cloud service provider networks, collaboration app networks and edge networks (including DNS, content delivery networks, and security as a service) during the week of Jan. 6. That’s double the number of outages the week prior (148). Specific to the U.S., there were 117 outages, which up 50% from 78 outages the week prior. Here’s a breakdown by category:
ISP outages: Globally, total ISP outages increased from 80 to 182 outages, a 127% increase compared to the week prior. In the U.S., ISP outages increased from 25 to 40, a 60% increase.
Public cloud network outages: Globally, cloud provider network outages increased from 34 to 72 outages. In the U.S., cloud provider network outages increased from 31 to 54 outages.
Collaboration app network outages: Globally, and in the U.S., there were two collaboration application network outages, up from one a week earlier.
Two notable outages
On January 8, Cogent Communications, a multinational transit provider based in the U.S., experienced an outage that impacted multiple downstream providers and customers across various regions, including the U.S., India, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Indonesia, Sweden, the U.K., Honduras, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Poland, the Netherlands, Australia, the Philippines, Greece, Germany, Argentina, New Zealand, France, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Colombia. The outage lasted a total of one hour and nine minutes, distributed across a series of occurrences over a period of three hours and 50 minutes. The first occurrence of the outage was observed around 6:00 AM EST and initially seemed to be centered on Cogent nodes located in Los Angeles, CA. Around three hours and 20 minutes after first being observed, nodes in Los Angeles, CA, began exhibiting outage conditions again, this time accompanied by nodes in Chicago, IL, El Paso, TX, and San Jose, CA. This increase in nodes experiencing outages appeared to coincide with a rise in the number of affected downstream customers, partners, and regions. Five minutes later, the nodes located in Chicago, IL, and El Paso, TX, appeared to clear, leaving only the nodes in Los Angeles, CA, and San Jose, CA, exhibiting outage conditions. The outage was cleared around 9:50 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
On January 10, Lumen, a U.S. based Tier 1 carrier (previously known as CenturyLink), experienced an outage that affected customers and downstream partners across multiple regions including Switzerland, South Africa, Egypt, the U.K., the U.S., Spain, Portugal, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, France, Hong Kong, and Italy The outage, lasting a total of 19 minutes, was first observed around 9:05 PM EST and appeared to be centered on Lumen nodes located in London, England, and Washington, D.C. Around twenty-five minutes from when the outage was first observed, the nodes located in London, England, appeared to clear, leaving only Lumen nodes located in Washington, D.C. exhibiting outage conditions. This drop in the number of nodes and locations exhibiting outage conditions appeared to coincide with a decrease in the number of impacted downstream partners, and customers. The outage was cleared around 9:55 PM CET. Click here for an interactive view.
Internet report for Dec. 30, 2024-Jan. 5, 2025
ThousandEyes reported 148 global network outage events across ISPs, cloud service provider networks, collaboration app networks and edge networks (including DNS, content delivery networks, and security as a service) during the week of Dec. 30, 2024. That’s up 95% from 76 outages the week prior. Specific to the U.S., there were 78 outages, which up nearly threefold from 28 outages the week prior. Here’s a breakdown by category:
ISP outages: Globally, total ISP outages increased from 46 to 80 outages, a 74% increase compared to the week prior. In the U.S., ISP outages increased from 10 to 25, a 150% increase.
Public cloud network outages: Globally, cloud provider network outages increased from 18 to 34 outages. In the U.S., cloud provider network outages increased from 13 to 31 outages.
Collaboration app network outages: There was one collaboration application network outage globally and in the U.S., which is an increase from zero in the previous week.
Two notable outages
On December 30, Neustar, a U.S. based technology service provider headquartered in Sterling, VA, experienced an outage that impacted multiple downstream providers, as well as Neustar customers within multiple regions, including the U.S., Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Canada, the U.K., Spain, Romania, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Costa Rica, Ireland, Japan, India, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The outage, lasting a total of one hour and 40 minutes, was first observed around 2:00 PM EST and appeared to initially center on Neustar nodes located in Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, D.C. Around 10 minutes into the outage, nodes located in Washington, D.C., were replaced by nodes located in Ashburn, VA, in exhibiting outage conditions. Around 10 minutes later, nodes located in Virginia, VA, and Los Angeles, CA, appeared to clear and were replaced by nodes located in Dallas, TX and San Jose, CA, in exhibiting outage conditions. Five minutes later, these nodes were replaced by nodes located in London, England, Ashburn, VA, New York, NY, and Washington, D.C. A further five minutes later, these nodes were joined by nodes located in Dallas, TX, in exhibiting outage conditions. This increase in nodes exhibiting outage conditions also appeared to coincide with an increase in the number of downstream partners and regions impacted. The outage was cleared around 3:40 PM EST. Click here for an interactive view.
On January 4, AT&T experienced an outage on their network that impacted AT&T customers and partners across multiple regions including the U.S., Ireland, the Philippines, the U.K., France, and Canada. The outage, lasting around 23 minutes, was first observed around 3:35 AM EST, appearing to initially center on AT&T nodes located in Phoenix, AZ, Los Angeles, CA, San Jose, CA, and New York, NY. Around ten minutes into the outage, nodes located in Phoenix, AZ, and San Jose, CA, appeared to clear, leaving just nodes located in Los Angeles, CA, and New York, NY, exhibiting outage conditions. This decrease in nodes exhibiting outage conditions appeared to coincide with a drop in the number of impacted partners and customers. The outage was cleared at around 4:00 AM EST. Click here for an interactive view.