Telecom networks are central to how people connect, pay, travel, and work. When a network outage occurs, disruption spreads quickly. What used to be a limited problem caused by a faulty update or a single routing error can now slow or halt major services because so many systems depend on the same shared infrastructure.
Telecom Tech News spoke with Reuben Koh, Director of Security Technology & Strategy at Akamai, to explore why modern outages have far greater consequences and what telecom operators and enterprises can do to reduce impact.
The same root causes, much larger impact
Koh explains that most significant outages still begin with familiar issues: misconfigurations, software bugs, or hardware failures. The difference today is the degree of interconnection. Systems that once failed in isolation now propagate problems across shared routing layers, central cloud regions, and common identity services.
What was once a local failure can escalate into national or global outages because many critical services rely on a small set of platforms and cloud regions. The result is longer downtime and a far wider blast radius.
Overreliance on a few major platforms
Koh highlights that many organisations, including telecom operators, have concentrated too much of their digital infrastructure on a limited number of cloud, SaaS, and network providers. This concentration means a single cloud region or provider outage can ripple through multiple dependent services, and it creates clearer targets for attackers because centralised systems reduce the number of distinct points of failure.
Why distributed and edge-based design improves resilience
Telecom operators have experience delivering services at scale, yet their networks face increasing pressure as more services run on cloud systems tied to core infrastructure. Koh recommends shifting toward distributed compute and edge architectures to contain disruptions. While no system can be fully “outage-proof,” designing for limited impact can prevent a small fault from taking down everything.
He suggests redeploying compute functions across a globally distributed edge, so many smaller nodes can operate autonomously. If one node fails, users are routed to nearby healthy nodes. This creates many autonomous cells across the network, reducing choke points and allowing engineers to remediate problems without triggering a total system failure. Such models also lower latency for latency-sensitive services like payments and gaming, while bringing security controls closer to end users.
How outages affect daily life — and why telecoms are first hit
Because telecom networks underpin so many essential services, failures are felt immediately. Koh cites a recent nationwide outage in Australia that disrupted mobile and fixed services for more than 10 million people, sparking regulatory attention and reforms around critical infrastructure and emergency roaming obligations.
Outages can disrupt ticketing systems, parcel tracking, government services, and emergency calls. When multiple dependent services fail simultaneously, the overall sense of disruption grows and public confidence erodes. People expect continuous access; outages undermine that expectation long after services are restored.
Regulatory shifts treating cloud failure as a national risk
Regulators are increasingly focused on cloud concentration because many telecom and national systems now run on the same global cloud platforms. Koh points to changes across APAC and beyond: Singapore treats cloud infrastructure as essential national computing; Australia has warned financial services about overdependence on a few US-based hyperscalers; Japan has tightened rules around third-party cloud risk; and regulators in Europe and the US are asking firms to demonstrate resilience if their primary cloud provider fails.
Regulators now view cloud concentration as a systemic risk rather than only a technical concern, prompting new expectations for redundancy and demonstrable continuity plans.
Rethinking business continuity for telecom networks
Telecom operators can no longer assume full uptime, particularly when core infrastructure depends on third-party cloud platforms. Koh argues the industry must adopt a different mindset: modern stacks are hyper-connected and complex, and a cloud outage can quickly affect core telecom services and all systems that rely on them.
He recommends designing for graceful degradation rather than total failure, diversifying providers, and leveraging global edge infrastructure to avoid single points of failure. The goal is to build shock-absorbing layers through rigorous stress testing, architectural improvements, and continuous updates so systems remain resilient when real-world failures occur.
New threats: APIs, AI-driven attacks, and unpredictable systems
Telecom operators face growing risk from API failures and AI-driven attacks. APIs interconnect billing systems, mobile apps, identity services, partner networks, and backend logic. When APIs fail or are exploited, damage spreads rapidly across the telecom stack. Koh notes that industry data increasingly shows APIs as a dominant attack vector.
Additionally, automated and AI-driven bot traffic has surged, increasing impersonation, phishing, and identity fraud. Koh recommends comprehensive API discovery, robust bot management, and stronger protections for AI models, together with sustained human oversight. Operators should assume that both people and automated systems can behave unpredictably and maintain human involvement in change management and incident response even as automation grows.
Key actions for telecom leaders
Failures are inevitable, but widespread collapse isn’t. Koh’s advice centers on distributed design, stronger operational practices, broader visibility, and pragmatic planning to absorb faults without losing control. Telecommunications providers should prioritize architectural decentralisation, diversify critical dependencies, perform regular stress testing, and prepare for graceful degradation. As telecoms continue to carry more of society’s essential functions, these measures will become increasingly important to maintain trust, continuity, and public safety.
See also: Cloudflare outage highlights enterprise infrastructure dependence
Want to discover how IoT is transforming telecoms and connectivity? Attend industry events such as the IoT Tech Expo in Amsterdam, California, and London to learn how 5G, edge computing, and IoT innovations are shaping the future of networks and services.
Telecoms News is published by TechForge Media.