diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 961d8d0..9cd9d0c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@ jobs:
           OTEL_SERVICE_NAME: test-service
           OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT: http://localhost:4317
           GCP_PROJECT_ID: test-project
+          TELEMETRY_ENABLED: false
         run: |
           poetry run pytest --cov=app --cov-report=xml
 
diff --git a/app/core/config.py b/app/core/config.py
index ef364d9..e247b8e 100644
--- a/app/core/config.py
+++ b/app/core/config.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     DATABASE_URL: str
     
     # OpenTelemetry
+    TELEMETRY_ENABLED: bool = True  # Set to False in tests to avoid connection errors
     OTEL_SERVICE_NAME: str = "clestiq-shield-api"
     OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT: str = "http://otel-collector:4317"
 
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     SECURITY_XSS_PROTECTION_ENABLED: bool = True
     SECURITY_SQL_INJECTION_DETECTION_ENABLED: bool = True
     SECURITY_COMMAND_INJECTION_DETECTION_ENABLED: bool = True
-    SECURITY_LLM_CHECK_THRESHOLD: float = 0.85  # Block if security_score > this value
+    SECURITY_LLM_CHECK_THRESHOLD: float = 0.85
 
 
     class Config:
diff --git a/app/core/telemetry.py b/app/core/telemetry.py
index f63f025..270094b 100644
--- a/app/core/telemetry.py
+++ b/app/core/telemetry.py
@@ -29,6 +29,24 @@ def add_open_telemetry_spans(_, __, event_dict):
     return event_dict
 
 def setup_telemetry(app):
+    # Skip telemetry setup if disabled (e.g., in test environments)
+    if not settings.TELEMETRY_ENABLED:
+        log = structlog.get_logger()
+        log.info("Telemetry disabled, skipping OpenTelemetry initialization")
+        
+        # Still configure basic structlog for tests
+        structlog.configure(
+            processors=[
+                structlog.contextvars.merge_contextvars,
+                structlog.processors.add_log_level,
+                structlog.processors.TimeStamper(fmt="iso"),
+                structlog.processors.JSONRenderer()
+            ],
+            logger_factory=structlog.stdlib.LoggerFactory(),
+            cache_logger_on_first_use=True,
+        )
+        return
+    
     resource = Resource.create({
         ResourceAttributes.SERVICE_NAME: settings.OTEL_SERVICE_NAME,
     })
diff --git a/docker-compose.test.yml b/docker-compose.test.yml
index 79c3cf9..a50367a 100644
--- a/docker-compose.test.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.test.yml
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ services:
       - GCP_LOCATION=us-east1
       - SECURITY_SANITIZATION_ENABLED=true
       - SECURITY_PII_REDACTION_ENABLED=true
+      - TELEMETRY_ENABLED=false
       - SECURITY_XSS_PROTECTION_ENABLED=true
       - SECURITY_SQL_INJECTION_DETECTION_ENABLED=true
       - SECURITY_COMMAND_INJECTION_DETECTION_ENABLED=true