Global Internet Outages Rise as Europe Sees Improvement: Weekly Health Check
San Francisco — The global internet experienced a notable surge in outages last week, even as Europe saw a rare reprieve in network disruptions, according to the latest monitoring data from Cisco’s ThousandEyes division. The findings, which track performance across internet service providers (ISPs), cloud platforms, and collaboration tools, reveal a complex picture of digital resilience in an era of remote work, AI-driven services, and cloud-first infrastructure.
For the week ending April 26, 2026, ThousandEyes recorded 264 global network outages, a 10% increase from the previous week’s 240 incidents. The rise was driven largely by a sharp uptick in ISP disruptions, which jumped 38% globally, from 105 to 145 outages. Cloud service providers, however, bucked the trend, with outages declining 34%, from 95 to 63. Meanwhile, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) saw a 15% drop in total outages, falling from 41 to 35—a rare bright spot in an otherwise turbulent week for global connectivity.
Linda Park, Technology Editor at World Today Journal, breaks down what these numbers imply for businesses, governments, and everyday users—and why the internet’s health remains a critical, yet fragile, backbone of modern life.
ISP Outages Surge, Even as Cloud Providers Stabilize
The most striking shift in last week’s data was the sharp rise in ISP outages, which accounted for more than half of all global disruptions. In the U.S. Alone, ISP outages climbed 63%, from 54 to 88, according to ThousandEyes’ report. This surge aligns with broader trends in 2026, where aging infrastructure, increased demand from AI and IoT devices, and a wave of cyberattacks have strained traditional network providers.
One high-profile incident underscored the week’s challenges: On April 22, Verizon Business, a major U.S.-based network service provider, experienced an outage that rippled across multiple regions, including the U.S., Spain, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the U.K. While ThousandEyes did not disclose the cause, such events often stem from routing misconfigurations, hardware failures, or targeted attacks on undersea cables—a growing concern for global internet resilience. Verizon Business has not publicly commented on the incident, but similar outages in 2025 and early 2026 have prompted calls for greater investment in redundant infrastructure and real-time monitoring tools like those offered by ThousandEyes and other network intelligence firms.
In contrast, cloud providers—including giants like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud—saw a significant reduction in outages. The 34% global decline suggests that hyperscale cloud platforms are benefiting from years of investment in redundancy, automated failover systems, and distributed data centers. This stability is critical as businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based services for everything from video conferencing to AI model training. However, experts warn that cloud outages, when they do occur, can have cascading effects, as seen in the 2023 AWS outage that disrupted services for millions of users worldwide.
Europe’s Rare Improvement: A Sign of Resilience or Just a Blip?
While global outages rose, the EMEA region defied the trend with a 15% drop in total disruptions, from 41 to 35. ISP outages in Europe also fell by 7%, from 27 to 25. This improvement comes after a turbulent start to 2026, during which Europe faced a series of high-profile outages linked to geopolitical tensions, undersea cable cuts, and a surge in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting critical infrastructure.
Several factors may explain Europe’s recent stability. First, the European Union’s Digital Decade 2030 initiative has accelerated investments in fiber-optic networks, 5G expansion, and cybersecurity measures. Second, major ISPs in the region, such as Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and BT Group, have prioritized network redundancy and automated monitoring tools to detect and mitigate disruptions before they escalate. Finally, the decline in outages may reflect a temporary lull in cyberattacks, which have been a persistent threat since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
However, analysts caution against interpreting Europe’s improvement as a long-term trend. “The internet is a dynamic ecosystem,” said Dr. Elena Vasquez, a senior researcher at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). “A single week of stability doesn’t erase the underlying vulnerabilities in global routing, DNS security, or the physical infrastructure that underpins the internet. We’re seeing more frequent, localized outages that don’t always make headlines but still disrupt businesses and public services.”
Why Internet Health Matters More Than Ever
The ThousandEyes report arrives at a time when the internet’s role in daily life has never been more critical—or more fragile. The shift to remote and hybrid work, the proliferation of AI-driven services, and the growing reliance on cloud-based collaboration tools have made even minor outages costly. A 2025 study by Ponemon Institute found that the average cost of a single hour of downtime for a large enterprise now exceeds $500,000, with some industries, like finance and healthcare, facing losses of up to $5 million per hour.
For consumers, outages can mean disrupted video calls, failed online transactions, or even temporary loss of access to essential services like telemedicine or remote education. In April 2026 alone, ThousandEyes recorded a single outage in collaboration app networks, highlighting the risks of relying on a handful of platforms for global communication. While the report did not specify which app was affected, the incident serves as a reminder of the concentration risk in the tech industry, where a small number of providers dominate critical services.
Governments are also taking notice. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed new rules requiring ISPs to disclose outages in near real-time, while the EU’s Network and Information Security (NIS2) Directive mandates stricter cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure providers. Meanwhile, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has called for a global framework to address internet fragmentation, warning that geopolitical tensions could lead to a “splinternet” where connectivity is increasingly regionalized.
What’s Next for Internet Resilience?
As businesses and governments grapple with the internet’s growing fragility, several trends are shaping the future of network resilience:
- AI-Powered Monitoring: Companies like ThousandEyes, Kentik, and Catchpoint are leveraging artificial intelligence to predict and mitigate outages before they occur. AI-driven tools can analyze traffic patterns in real-time, identify anomalies, and even automate failover processes to minimize downtime.
- Decentralized Infrastructure: The rise of edge computing and decentralized networks aims to reduce reliance on centralized data centers and undersea cables. Projects like IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) and blockchain-based networks are exploring ways to distribute data more securely and efficiently.
- Regulatory Pressure: Governments are increasingly mandating transparency and accountability from ISPs and cloud providers. The EU’s NIS2 Directive, for example, requires companies to report major incidents within 24 hours and implement robust cybersecurity measures. Similar regulations are under consideration in the U.S., Japan, and Australia.
- Public-Private Partnerships: Initiatives like the Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security (MANRS) bring together ISPs, cloud providers, and cybersecurity firms to improve routing security and reduce the risk of misconfigurations that can lead to outages.
For now, the ThousandEyes data serves as a reminder that the internet’s health is not guaranteed. While cloud providers appear to be stabilizing, the surge in ISP outages highlights the ongoing challenges of maintaining a global network that is both fast and reliable. As Dr. Vasquez put it, “The internet was designed to be resilient, but it wasn’t designed for the scale and complexity we’re seeing today. The question isn’t whether outages will happen—it’s how quickly we can detect, respond to, and recover from them.”
Key Takeaways
- Global outages rose 10% week-over-week, driven by a 38% surge in ISP disruptions, while cloud provider outages fell 34%.
- Europe bucked the trend with a 15% drop in total outages, though analysts caution this may be temporary.
- Verizon Business experienced a multi-region outage on April 22, affecting users in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
- Collaboration app networks saw their first recorded outage of 2026, underscoring the risks of relying on a small number of providers.
- AI-driven monitoring and decentralized infrastructure are emerging as key solutions to improve internet resilience.
- Regulatory pressure is growing, with the EU’s NIS2 Directive and proposed U.S. Rules aiming to increase transparency and accountability.
What to Watch
ThousandEyes will release its next weekly report on May 5, 2026, providing fresh insights into global internet performance. In the meantime, businesses and consumers can stay informed by following updates from organizations like the Internet Society, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), and national regulatory bodies such as the FCC and the EU’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT).
Have you experienced an internet outage recently? How did it impact your work or daily life? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to our Tech Newsletter for the latest updates on internet health, AI, and digital innovation.