Tag: #ookla

Dowdetector by Ookla: Largest Outages of 2025

In 2025, digital services proved both indispensable and fragile. This year’s largest outages were defined by platform-level disruptions, particularly across video, gaming, and communication platforms, that impacted millions of users. However, given how many individual platforms rely on the same few cloud providers and core systems, the role of centralized infrastructure also played a key role, demonstrating how a single point of failure can still cause disruption to cascade across multiple services simultaneously.

Downdetector® data from 2025 Ookla could analyze millions of user reports and identify the largest website and service outages of the year.

The World’s Biggest Outages of 2025

2025 saw a combination of major outages across gaming, streaming, and social media services, but none were more impactful than the cloud services outages that affected companies across the globe. These large-scale incidents underscored how failures in core infrastructure can ripple outward to millions of users. Here is a look at the largest global outages of 2025, according to Downdetector data.

 

In Europe:

 

  • PlayStation Network global issue topped the EU list with 1.7 million reports.
  • Snapchat saw the second-highest outage activity in the region with 989,559 reports submitted by users.
  • Vodafone’s UK-wide internet outage generated 833,211 reports.
  • WhatsApp caused significant disruption for its users with 621,763 reports.
  • Spotify’s outage recorded 468,334 reports, making it a major non-video streaming event.
  • Odido experienced, within 10 days, two separate outages that totaled 357,685 reports (June 15th) and 382,003 reports (June 25th).

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Ookla: Onboard Train Connectivity Across Europe

Ookla has analyzed country-level train Wi-Fi performance across Europe and Asia, using Speedtest Intelligence

Europe and Asia’s rail networks, long heralded as a backbone of economic competitiveness, are now judged not only on punctuality and comfort but on the quality of the digital experience onboard. High-quality train Wi-Fi has shifted from nice-to-have to essential rail infrastructure. Commuters expect a home broadband-like experience for streaming, work calls and gaming while crossing the Swiss Alps or skirting Mount Fuji.

Where countries treat train connectivity as rail infrastructure and pair onboard Wi-Fi with rail-specific infrastructure (trackside, LEO satellite or both), everyday outcomes improve measurably for passengers. This study is the first of its kind to use crowdsourced Ookla Speedtest® data to benchmark country-level train Wi-Fi performance across Europe and Asia.

Key Takeaways:

  • The gap separating Europe’s best and worst is startling. In Q2 2025, Sweden set the pace for train Wi-Fi in Europe with a 64.58 Mbps median download, followed by Switzerland (29.79 Mbps) and Ireland (26.33 Mbps). Laggards like Spain (1.45 Mbps), the UK (1.09 Mbps) and the Netherlands (0.41 Mbps) featured the poorest outcomes, with download speeds as much as 158 times slower than top-performing Sweden.
  • Legacy Wi-Fi tech drags many rail networks. Across the European markets studied, nearly two in five connections still run on Wi-Fi 4 (a standard dating to 2009), and ~22% use the lower-capacity, more congestion- and interference-prone 2.4 GHz band. The UK still sees over half of all rail connections on Wi-Fi 4, with 38% on 2.4 GHz. In Poland, rail connections remain almost entirely on Wi-Fi 4 and the 2.4 GHz band.
  • Band and Wi-Fi gen matter, but backhaul is the real bottleneck. Within-country comparisons show substantial uplifts for 5 GHz vs 2.4 GHz (e.g., +328% in Germany) and Wi-Fi 5 vs Wi-Fi 4 (e.g., +241% in Germany). Yet countries that feature a more modern Wi-Fi mix and thus drive greater use of the 5 GHz band, like Spain and Italy, can still underperform on speeds. This demonstrates that backhaul (i.e., the connection between the train’s roof antennas and the public mobile networks), not just cabin Wi-Fi, is the dominant driver of performance.
  • Asian rail networks feature modern Wi-Fi mix and lower latency but are not always faster. Taiwan posted the lowest latency and the only material Wi-Fi 6 share (~20%), while Japan and South Korea showed virtually no legacy Wi-Fi 4 or 2.4 GHz usage. Across Asia, typical median download speeds (6-8 Mbps) cluster below Europe’s leaders but above its laggards, reflecting different policy approaches (i.e., greater emphasis on cellular than Wi-Fi).
  • Policy fingerprints are unmistakable and outweigh topographic and demographic factors. When governments and operators treat mobile networks as core rail infrastructure, and invest in dedicated trackside systems, higher-order MIMO with multi-operator bonded train-mounted antennas, and RF-permeable rolling-stock window retrofits, outcomes improve dramatically.

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Ookla: Ireland H1 2025 Connectivity Report

When Ookla was founded in 2006, high-speed home internet was just becoming available in many locations, and consumers needed a reliable way to test their network speed. Speedtest®, the company’s flagship product, is the most accurate tool for measuring a network’s capabilities. Today, modern connected experiences require reliable, consistently high performance across many additional metrics beyond download speed, including low latency for gaming, high-quality video streaming, good upload speeds for teleconferencing, and fast page load times while browsing on a mobile device.

In this evolving connectivity landscape, Ookla remains fiercely committed to measuring worldwide internet performance — as well as availability, quality of service (QoS), and quality of experience (QoE) of fixed broadband and mobile networks. For over 17 years, Ookla has been perfecting the way we test connectivity services and transparently reporting on their performance. By capturing real-world metrics and delivering insights back to network operators and policymakers, Ookla serves as the bridge between consumers and the telecommunications industry.

Every day, millions of people press the “Go” button on Speedtest to better understand the performance and quality of their internet connections. This consumer-initiated testing reflects how people actually experience the internet, when and where it actually matters to them. Because Ookla has the world’s largest network of testing servers located across every country and major population center, Speedtest does not introduce any extra travel time as the data passes between the device and server — which provides the most accurate measure of real-world network speed.

In addition to consumer-initiated testing, Ookla collects billions of mobile network samples daily, which measure radio signal levels, network coverage and availability, and QoE metrics for a number of connected experiences, such as streaming video, video conferencing, gaming, web browsing, and CDN and cloud provider performance.

Data Collection Period: January – June 2025

Three led the mobile market across key performance metrics

Three was the fastest mobile provider in Ireland for all technologies combined and for 5G during 1H 2025. Across all technologies combined, Three recorded a median download speed of 70.36 Mbps, while on 5G it recorded 129.84 Mbps.

Three and Eir Fibre offered the best gaming experiences

Three offered the best 5G gaming experience in Ireland during 1H 2025, while Eir Fibre recorded the best gaming experience among ISPs.

Virgin Media the fastest fixed ISP in Ireland

Virgin Media was the fastest ISP in Ireland during 1H 2025 with a median download speed of 269.47 Mbps, and a median upload speed of 48.84 Mbps.

Limerick and Lucan were the top performing urban locations in Ireland

Among the most populous urban locations in Ireland, Limerick recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 113.71 Mbps, while Lucan outpaced the other locations to record the fastest median fixed download speed, with 281.14 Mbps.

  • Three was the fastest mobile provider in Ireland for all technologies combined and for 5G during 1H 2025. Across all technologies combined, Three recorded a median download speed of 70.36 Mbps, while on 5G it recorded 129.84 Mbps.
  • Virgin Media was the fastest ISP in Ireland during 1H 2025 with a median download speed of 269.47 Mbps, and a median upload speed of 48.84 Mbps.
  • Three offered the best 5G gaming experience in Ireland during 1H 2025, while Eir Fibre recorded the best gaming experience among ISPs.
  • Among the most populous urban locations in Ireland, Limerick recorded the fastest median mobile download speed of 113.71 Mbps, while Lucan outpaced the other locations to record the fastest median fixed download speed, with 281.14 Mbps.

 

 

See the full report HERE

Ookla Shares Analysis of Storm Éowyn’s Impact on Telecoms Infrastructure

The UK and Ireland are in recovery mode after Storm Éowyn wreaked havoc on electricity and telecoms infrastructure in recent days. With record wind gusts exceeding 180 km/h recorded in Ireland and a ‘major incident’ declared on the Isle of Man, the storm has been historic in both its strength and the extent of the damage caused across the islands.

Today, Ookla Shares Analysis of Storm Éowyn’s Impact on Telecoms Infrastructure severe and sustained decline in mobile performance across all operators in Ireland and parts of the UK on a scale not seen before.

On the day the storm made landfall (24th January), median mobile download speeds in Ireland (10.04 Mbps) were 78% lower than the preceding 7-day average of 47.43 Mbps, while median latency was 23% higher at 47.6 ms. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, mobile download speeds at the 10th percentile—a critical metric reflecting the poorest network performance—dropped significantly on the same day, falling by 63% to 2.19 Mbps and by 74% to 1.31 Mbps, respectively, compared to the 7-day average.

The unprecedented scale of impact on telecoms infrastructure serves as the latest and most high-profile call to action for hardening networks against increasingly frequent and severe storms in the UK and Ireland.

You can find the full analysis and Speedtest Intelligence® data here: https://www.ookla.com/articles/storm-eowyn

How did Storm Darragh impact Irish mobile operators

Storm Darragh caused the most extensive damage to Ireland’s electricity infrastructure in a decade and widespread mobile network outages over the weekend.

Today, Ookla shares its analysis of the impact on mobile operators in Ireland and Speedtest Intelligence® data revealing a marked and sustained decline in download and upload speeds, as well as increased latency and jitter, across all operators nationally.

Ireland’s three Mobile Network Operators (Eir, Three and Vodafone) all suffered, with median download speeds on Saturday recorded at nearly 70% lower than the 7-day average preceding the storm.  Around 40% of all samples collected by Speedtest failed to meet the minimum thresholds across 4G (5 Mbps download, 1 Mbps upload) and 5G (25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload) on Saturday.

This performance analysis is based on the national picture, highlighting that the impact was significant enough to lower the overall country-wide performance profile. A closer examination of the worst-affected areas along the western seaboard revealed even more pronounced declines in performance outcomes in the aftermath of the storm.

Read more here

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Ookla partners with Dublin City Council to tackle telecoms deficits in the city

Today, Ookla, a global leader in connectivity intelligence, announces its partnership with Dublin City Council and the City Telecoms Association to identify and tackle telecoms deficits in Dublin. This first-of-its-kind initiative, fueled by Ookla’s Speedtest Insights®, offers a practical blueprint for l cities across Europe to drive digital inclusion and optimise network outcomes through actionable, data-driven insights.
The partnership demonstrates how a data-driven approach can enhance connectivity outcomes in a tangible way, empowering cities to better serve citizens. For the first time, the city is addressing connectivity gaps through targeted policy interventions, and fostering collaborative efforts with operators to attract investments that were previously hindered by site acquisition challenges.
You can find the full partnership case study here with more information about the five high-impact use cases created by Dublin City Council using Ookla’s network intelligence data.
Key points from the study:
  • Telecoms strategy and digital inclusion:  A proactive data-driven telecom strategy aimed at bridging digital divides, with significant analysis of how socio-economic factors affect connectivity outcomes, especially in areas with high social deprivation.
  • Identification of connectivity gaps: Ookla’s real-world data has enabled DCC to pinpoint key areas in Dublin with significant connectivity issues, influencing policy and planning to prioritise interventions where they are most needed.
  • Innovative use of city assets: Dublin’s approach to leveraging city-owned assets for telecom infrastructure, including facilitating multi-operator site access, represents a strategic move to optimise asset use and reduce urban clutter, aligned with EU regulatory goals​.
  • Transparency and public engagement: The Council has launched a public educational initiative on telecom infrastructure, including visualisations of before-and-after network improvements from new site deployments, to engage citizens and increase acceptance of new infrastructure.
  • Comparative benchmarking in Europe: Through Ookla’s data, Dublin has gained insights into its telecom performance relative to other European cities, highlighting areas of competitive strength in 5G availability and identifying room for improvement in 4G speeds​.
Key data and methodology:
  • The collaboration saw Ookla collect Speedtest® network data across the city over two 12-month periods (June 2022-June 2023 and June 2023-June 2024) with a sample size in the tens of millions; creating the most comprehensive analysis of mobile network performance ever conducted at the city level in Ireland.
  • Leveraging Ookla’s Speedtest® Insights platform, DCC were able to integrate other data sources, such as internal city asset registries, mobile site location maps from Ireland’s telecoms regulator ComReg, and social deprivation data from Pobal.
  • Geospatial analysis created a localised tile-based grid across the entire city to categorise mobile network performance at different times of the day. Performance was evaluated against two metrics; signal strength and download speed. Each location tile was categorised as unacceptable if it had less than 11 dBm signal strength and 5 Mbps download speed. Anything above 11 dBM and 5 Mbps was categorised as ‘acceptable’.

eir Extends Partnership With GamerFest, Ireland’s Leading Gaming Festival as Ookla Confirms eir Ireland’s Lowest Latency Broadband Provide

eir, Ireland’s largest telecommunications provider, today announces an extension of the partnership with GamerFest, Ireland’s biggest gaming and esports festival as Official Network Partner. The event, established in 2017, will hold two events in Dublin in 2023, on May 27th & 28th and October 21st & 22nd, enabling more gamers from across Ireland to experience the future of gaming in the RDS, Dublin. The extension of the partnership comes as Ookla® confirms eir as the fixed network with the best latency, based on analysis of Speedtest Intelligence data for fixed multi-server latency in Ireland, Q1 2023.

eir’s low latency means gamers’ actions are registered faster, giving them more time to react and make strategic decisions. Having delivered its best latency Gigabit Broadband network, capable of speeds of up to 10GB per second, to a record breaking one million homes and businesses across Ireland, eir is now the best network for gaming in Ireland.

Susan Brady, Managing Director of eir Consumer and Small Business “We’re delighted to partner with GamerFest again this year and look forward to showcasing the best possible gaming experience that the eir network enables at the events in the RDS.  The confirmation from Ookla on the low latency of the eir network this week allows the gamers of Ireland access to a competitive advantage when gaming. Low latency is critical for gaming and with the latest technology and infrastructure, eir’s network also offers lightning-fast download and upload speeds, ensuring that gamers can play their favourite games without any lag or interruption also. We’re proud to deliver that to one million premises across Ireland, making eir undoubtedly the best network for gamers in Ireland.”

Stuart Dempsey, GamerFest’s CEO: “The whole GamerFest team are proud to partner with eir. We’ve been blown away to see eir build out their Gigabit Fibre network to more than one million homes and businesses, which is huge news for our gaming community across Ireland as Gigabit Fibre speeds combined with the lowest latency provides an unmatched gaming experience.

Mobile gaming is also steadily increasing in popularity due to the expansion of 4G and 5G mobile technology. With eir’s 5G network, gamers can rest assured that they will always have the best possible gaming experience. We’re incredibly excited to welcome visitors back to GamerFest 2023 in May and October to experience all the amazing gaming content and technology across the weekend and to partner with eir again as our Official Network Partner.”

Over the last four years, eir has invested more than €1 billion in building world class connectivity infrastructure, enabling the build of Ireland’s largest Gigabit Fibre Network and Ireland’s best available 5G mobile network. eir has committed to investing a further €1 billion over four years, through to 2026 and is rolling out its Gigabit Broadband network to 1.9 million front doors, or 84% of homes and businesses, by the end of 2026.

Virgin Media is Ireland’s Fastest Broadband Provider and In-Home Wi-Fi Network for fourth year in a row #VirginMedia #Ookla

Ookla, the worldwide independent leader in consumer-initiated testing and analysis, has named Virgin Media as Ireland’s fastest broadband provider, for the fourth year in a row, and Ireland’s fastest In-Home Wi-Fi network. The results of tests taken with Speedtest® show that Virgin Media is considerably faster when compared to its nearest competitor for broadband and In-Home Wi-Fi.

Comparing millions of tests carried out by consumers themselves, Ookla analysed the results of tests taken by customers of all the major internet service providers in Ireland during the award determination period (Q1-Q2 2020).

Virgin Media provided the fastest speeds delivering 90th percentile download speeds of 255.18 Mbps compared to Vodafone (175.95 Mbps), eir (112.28 Mbps) or Sky (95.33 Mbps).

Virgin Media’s In-Home Wi-Fi also excelled, providing Virgin’s customers with 90th percentile download speeds of 251.23 Mbps, compared to Vodafone (156.42 Mbps), eir (111.42 Mbps) and Sky (99.42 Mbps).

Paul Higgins, Vice President of Commercial, said: “Today’s announcement is another fantastic endorsement for the Virgin Media cable broadband network. The fact we own our entire network, which uses DOCSIS 3 cable technology, means we can deliver speeds that are head and shoulders above our rivals. To be independently verified by Ookla, a globally recognised organisation, for the fourth year running underlines the investment we have consistently made to ensure our customers can enjoy Irelands fastest broadband network.”

Our award-winning speeds, paired with our innovative Hub with Smart Wi-Fi, means customers can expect to achieve the best In Home Wi-Fi and enjoy more connected entertainment including video, movies and gaming on more devices than ever. It also means our customers can be sure of the fastest Wi-Fi experience when it comes to working from home, be it online video conferencing or file sharing with colleagues. Virgin Media broadband network is delivering average download speeds that are over 72% faster than our nearest competitor.  

We know our customers are using their broadband more than ever before with a 40% increase in data usage and a 22% increase in Wi-Fi usage across Virgin Media’s high speed residential broadband network during the period from March to June inclusive. With our recent announcement offering 1Gb broadband speeds to 97.5% of our network, we’re now giving customers the option of even faster broadband speeds to their homes and the latest in-home technology to unlock the power of this new capability. The fastest really has gotten even faster.”

Doug Suttles, CEO, GM and Co-Founder of Ookla said: “We are pleased to present Virgin Media with the award for Fastest Broadband and In-Home Wi-Fi Network in Ireland. This recognition is testament to their exceptional performance in Q1-Q2 2020 based on Ookla’s rigorous analysis of consumer-initiated tests taken with Speedtest.”

The full results of the speed test can be viewed here: 

https://www.speedtest.net/awards/ireland/2020?award_type=isp&time_period=q1-q2