Ookla has released its latest analysis on the largest Internet outages, during the first nine months of 2024. The report, based on Downdetector, aims to analyse the largest challenges associated with service disruptions, as dependence on digital services increases.
Downdetector by Ookla is the world’s most popular platform for online service status information. By leveraging over 25 million monthly reports from individual users, real-time analysis and verification of outage reports, Downdetector Explorer helps ISPs, mobile network operators, technology companies, banks and other organisations understand the size and scale of incidents – and rapidly act to resolve issues that matter most to their customers.
“Our Downdetector platform offers real-time visibility into service disruptions, helping users and businesses stay informed and respond effectively,” said Hamdy Farid, SVP of Product at Ookla.
“In such scenarios, early detection, problem isolation and user communication becomes critical for local telecom operators and service providers. Leveraging Downdetector Explorer, operators can understand the size and scale of incidents and rapidly act to resolve issues that matter most to consumers,” said Farid.
Key findings from the report include:
- Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were most impacted, affecting millions of users.
- Furthermore, Internet Service Providers, ISPs and gaming services were also significantly impacted, underscoring both the complexity of the Internet itself and the needs of network-reliant services on this complex ecosystem.
- Though the outages were worldwide, key regions like the Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and the United States experienced substantial service disruptions.
On a global scale, Facebook’s outage on March 5 was the largest, with over 11.1 million users across the world reporting issues. Facebook and Instagram outages impacted the Asia-Pacific region the most, followed by widespread disruptions to Microsoft 365 and local services like PayPay and Jio.
