New data reveals telecom's observability gap and its rising toll on performance, security, and AI readiness.
BOULDER, CO / ACCESS Newswire / May 5, 2025 / WanAware, an innovator in intelligent observability, today released its 2025 Telecom Observability Benchmark Report, offering an unprecedented look at the disconnect between network infrastructure investments and the visibility tools required to manage them. Based on a survey of telecom leaders across North America and Europe, the report reveals the stark reality that, while capital expenditures have increased or held steady for most providers, over 62% report visibility into less than half of their own infrastructure assets.
"There's a clear disparity between where telecom dollars are going and where they're most urgently needed," said Jeff Collins, CEO of WanAware. "You can't manage what you can't see. With the industry pushing into AI, 5G, and edge deployments, this lack of observability threatens to derail progress."
The Visibility Gap: Telecom's Unseen Risk
The report uncovers a growing "visibility debt" - a misalignment between network growth and the monitoring tools used. While more than $300 billion has been invested in infrastructure since 2018, observability tools remain underfunded. The survey reveals that 54% of telecom leaders allocate 10% or less of their infrastructure budget to visibility solutions.
At the same time, 56% report that their capital expenditures have either remained flat or increased over the past two years. This divide between spending and visibility is creating blind spots that can hinder performance, slow innovation, and open the door to security risks. Only a small fraction, just 7%, say they have full visibility (91-100%) into their current infrastructure.
Shared Infrastructure, Shared Blind Spots
With nearly 70% of providers participating in network-to-network interface (NNI) agreements, shared infrastructure has become standard. But visibility hasn't kept up. Over 55% of providers report disruptions that could have been avoided with better observability, and nearly 9% say these issues occur weekly.
Security is also suffering as more than a third of providers detect less than 20% of security threats through their own tools, signaling an urgent need for unified visibility across shared environments.
Rural Expansion, Fragmented Tools
As providers expand to close the digital divide and bring connectivity to rural and underserved areas, operational oversight isn't keeping pace. Twenty-five percent of leaders are only slightly or not at all confident in their visibility over new or expanded assets, and 30% rely on seven or more disparate tools to monitor their networks. This tool sprawl hinders real-time insights just when they're needed most.
The Road to Future Networks Starts with Visibility
With 5G, edge computing, and XaaS models defining the next era of telecom, only 27% of respondents feel prepared to support AI-intensive applications with current visibility tools. And 55% express moderate to extreme concern about visibility gaps during these next-gen rollouts. Without modern observability to match modern networks, future-proofing efforts risk stalling before they even begin.
"As infrastructure gets more abstract and dependencies stretch across clouds, carriers, and platforms, observability isn't just about uptime - it's about trust, accountability, and control in a world built on shared responsibility," Vincent English, former CEO of PacketFabric and Megaport.
The 2025 Telecom Observability Benchmark Report is based on an independent survey of 180 telecom leaders spanning executive, network operations, and security roles in North America and Europe that was conducted in April. Download the full report here.
To learn more about WanAware, visit the website or meet them at ITW 2025 on May 5-7, 2025 in National Harbor, Maryland.
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ABOUT WANAWARE:
WanAware is an innovator in intelligent observability, dedicated to solving the most pressing challenges in IT performance, availability, and security monitoring. By leveraging advanced technologies, including AI and machine learning, WanAware delivers actionable insights that empower organizations to achieve operational excellence. For more information, visit www.wanaware.com.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Nina Pfister, MAG PR at nina@mooringadvisorygroup.com; T: 781-929-5620.
SOURCE: WanAware
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:
https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/wanaware-exposes-telecom-industry-blindspots-in-2025-observabilit-1022790
