Original article provided by BDO Global Office

The telecommunications sector continues to experience rapid transformation, shaped by evolving regulatory frameworks, rising cybersecurity threats, and increasing pressure to deliver resilient, future-ready infrastructure. These challenges are compounded by the sector’s growing role in enabling digital inclusion, cloud services, and national security.

This 2025/26 edition of the Telecommunications Risk Factor Survey builds on the foundation laid in previous reports, offering a consolidated global view of the top risk factors facing telecoms operators. The results reveal a decisive pivot in the global telecoms and data centre sectors, marked by sharper operational, regulatory and financial pressures. 

This year’s findings also highlight a significant shift in risk priorities: previously, regulatory and tax‑based risks dominated, but now the focus is on more immediate operational concerns: for example, cybersecurity is cited as a critical risk by 85% of operators.

In addition to sector‑wide analysis, the report features comparative insights across EMEA, the Americas and APAC, as well as a new dedicated focus on risks facing data centres as a distinct and unique infrastructure category. Notable risk mitigation strategies employed by operators globally have also been included to provide a forward-looking gauge on what to consider.



How BDO can help
BDO helps telecommunications operators and data centre businesses address today’s evolving risk landscape by strengthening cyber, operational and resilience-focused risk frameworks. We support organisations in moving beyond compliance to better anticipate disruption and protect business continuity in an increasingly volatile environment.

Please reach out to our firm’s experts for further information.