A chronic outage clause is a contract term that may give a customer the right to end an affected service, usually without early termination fees, if it suffers repeated outages or SLA misses within a set period. It is found in some provider SLAs and is often negotiated into connectivity and managed services contracts. It complements service credits: credits compensate for individual outages, while a chronic outage clause gives an exit when a service keeps failing.
At a glance
- It may let you exit a repeatedly failing service without penalty; many contracts don’t include one unless negotiated.
- The trigger is a defined count of qualifying outages or SLA misses within a rolling period.
- The remedy usually applies to the affected service, often within a set window and with written notice.
- Many clauses count only outages that were reported, met the SLA definition or were credited.
- How it applies depends on the contract wording and the governing law.
What problem it solves
SLA credits are usually a small percentage of the monthly charge. For a business that loses a day of work each time a circuit drops, the credit rarely matches the impact, and it doesn’t fix the underlying problem. If a provider can’t keep a service stable, the buyer’s real need is the ability to leave and replace it.
Without a contractual exit, leaving mid-term may trigger early termination fees, and proving a material breach can be slow and uncertain. A chronic outage clause defines, in advance, how much failure is too much and what the customer may do about it. That gives the buyer leverage to get problems fixed and a clean path out if they aren’t.
How it works
Definitions. The clause relies on the service level agreement (SLA) to define an outage: what counts, how duration is measured, and what is excluded, such as planned maintenance, customer-caused faults or events outside the provider’s control.
The trigger. Typical wording sets a number of qualifying outages within a rolling window, a total outage duration, or uptime below a threshold for consecutive months. Some clauses also count repeated misses of repair-time targets, which relate to mean time to recovery (MTTR).
Evidence. Outages usually need to be reported through a ticket and recorded by the provider. Some clauses only count outages for which credits were claimed.
The remedy. Once triggered, the customer may typically terminate the affected service without early termination fees, often by written notice within a set number of days. Some clauses add or substitute other remedies, such as a remediation plan or higher credits.
Scope. The remedy usually covers only the affected circuit or service. Buyers may negotiate coverage for dependent services, such as a managed router on a failed circuit.
How a clause applies in practice depends on its wording, the evidence and the governing law. This is general information, not legal advice. For connectivity where uptime matters, our dedicated internet access page covers SLA terms and backup design together.
When it matters for buyers
- Before signing. Ask for a chronic outage clause on critical services, such as dedicated internet access, SD-WAN and managed network services.
- When outages repeat. Check whether the trigger has been met and whether your notice window is open.
- When claiming credits. Claim each one on time; it may be the record that counts toward the trigger.
- At renewal. A service with a history of outages is a reason to negotiate stronger remedies or switch.
- When planning backups. A clause provides an exit, not uptime; a diverse backup connection still matters.
Questions to ask vendors
- Does your SLA include a chronic outage clause, and if not, will you add one?
- How many outages, of what length, over what period trigger it?
- What counts as an outage, and what is excluded?
- Do outages have to be ticketed or credited to count?
- What remedies apply, and how long do we have to exercise them?
- Does the remedy cover dependent services such as managed equipment?
- Does it apply equally to off-net circuits delivered over another carrier’s access?
How it differs from SLA credits
SLA credits are bill reductions for individual misses, such as an outage that exceeds the availability or repair-time target. They compensate but keep the contract in place. A chronic outage clause looks at a pattern of misses over time and, when the threshold is crossed, gives the customer a remedy that usually ends the affected service without penalty. Many contracts have credits but no chronic outage clause, which is why buyers often negotiate one.