Current challenges in the telecommunications / internet industry

Despite significant advancements, the internet industry continues to grapple with a multitude of issues. In developed markets like the US, internet downtime remains a critical problem. Over the last three years, approximately 20% of organizations have experienced a significant outage, presenting substantial costs in terms of lost productivity, revenue, data, and increased customer support, not to mention reputational damage. On average, downtime costs around $9,000 per minute (source).

Maintaining robust internet performance is paramount for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Inability to provide reliable service is a leading reason for customers to switch providers (source). Customer attrition is a significant drain on resources in this industry, costing US ISPs around $780 million per year (source).

To ensure high-quality service delivery, ISPs heavily invest in their own network infrastructure. Network-related costs constitute roughly 50% of the industry's operating expenses, which are costs associated with running their business (source). Globally, these operating expenses amount to approximately $1.5 trillion (source). Additionally, between 60% to 90% of capital expenditures, the funds used for building, acquiring, and maintaining physical infrastructure, are allocated to the network (source). In 2021, these capital expenditures totaled $326 billion (source)

In spite of the importance of maintaining a high-performing internet for both customers and ISPs, along with other stakeholders in the industry, there remain a number of unresolved performance challenges. We identify the key issues as follows:

1. No single ISP possesses enough high-quality data on internet performance.

2. Data sharing within the industry is not a common practice.

3. ISPs encounter difficulties in accessing and utilizing data within their own organizations.

4. End users typically have limited visibility into internet performance.