More than one in three UK organisations surveyed put the cost of their last significant connectivity fault at £5,000 or more

London, UK, September 23, 2026 – Further findings from LightSpeed Networks’ recently published survey of 401 UK business connectivity decision-makers highlight the financial consequences of connectivity failure. More than a third (36%) estimated that their organisation’s last significant connectivity fault cost at least £5,000. Across the full sample, 17% estimated a cost of £25,000 or more.

When UK business connectivity decision-makers were asked about the possible impact of a one-hour connectivity failure during the working day, 65% said it would cause significant disruption or worse. This included 18% who believed most of the business would stop or the organisation would be unable to operate. The findings underline that connectivity is critical to day-to-day business continuity, not simply an IT issue.

Across the 401 responses to the fault-impact question, the reported effects on day-to-day operations were clear:

• 68% said staff had been unable to work.
• 60% said customer service had been disrupted.

Revenue loss was also cited by 31% of respondents. Separately, when respondents were asked to estimate the overall cost of their last significant connectivity fault:

• 36% put the cost at £5,000 or more.
• 17% put the cost at £25,000 or more.

The data obtained also identified which systems are affected in an organisation following disruption. Two thirds (66%) said cloud applications had been disrupted by connectivity outages, 62% cited Microsoft 365 and 48% cited customer portals. A further 32% identified CRM or ERP systems.

The findings highlight the business consequences of connectivity failure beyond the IT function. For business leaders, the practical questions are which operations depend on connectivity, what continuity arrangements are in place, and who is responsible for coordinating recovery when a fault occurs.

Research Methodology

LightSpeed Networks commissioned an online survey of 401 full-time UK business connectivity decision-makers with leadership or supervisory responsibilities across IT, operations, finance, procurement and project management, with fieldwork conducted between 21 July and 22 August 2026.