diff --git a/internal/controller/telemetry/collector.go b/internal/controller/telemetry/collector.go
index e06da3f0b8..0c33c8c2f6 100644
--- a/internal/controller/telemetry/collector.go
+++ b/internal/controller/telemetry/collector.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
 	"runtime"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@ type ConfigurationGetter interface {
 // Data is telemetry data.
 //
 //go:generate go run -tags generator github.com/nginx/telemetry-exporter/cmd/generator -type=Data -scheme -scheme-protocol=NGFProductTelemetry -scheme-df-datatype=ngf-product-telemetry
-type Data struct {
+type Data struct { //nolint //required to skip golangci-lint-full fieldalignment
 	// ImageSource tells whether the image was built by GitHub or locally (values are 'gha', 'local', or 'unknown')
 	ImageSource string
 	tel.Data    // embedding is required by the generator.
@@ -66,6 +67,8 @@ type Data struct {
 	ControlPlanePodCount int64
 	// NginxOneConnectionEnabled is a boolean that indicates whether the connection to the Nginx One Console is enabled.
 	NginxOneConnectionEnabled bool
+	// BuildOS is the base operating system the control plane was built on (e.g. alpine, ubi).
+	BuildOS string
 }
 
 // NGFResourceCounts stores the counts of all relevant resources that NGF processes and generates configuration from.
@@ -121,6 +124,8 @@ type DataCollectorConfig struct {
 	Version string
 	// ImageSource is the source of the NGF image.
 	ImageSource string
+	// BuildOS is the base operating system the control plane was built on (e.g. alpine, ubi).
+	BuildOS string
 	// Flags contains the command-line NGF flag keys and values.
 	Flags config.Flags
 	// NginxOneConsoleConnection is a boolean that indicates whether the connection to the Nginx One Console is enabled.
@@ -174,6 +179,11 @@ func (c DataCollectorImpl) Collect(ctx context.Context) (Data, error) {
 
 	nginxPodCount := getNginxPodCount(g, clusterInfo.NodeCount)
 
+	buildOs := os.Getenv("BUILD_OS")
+	if buildOs == "" {
+		buildOs = "alpine"
+	}
+
 	data := Data{
 		Data: tel.Data{
 			ProjectName:         "NGF",
@@ -187,6 +197,7 @@ func (c DataCollectorImpl) Collect(ctx context.Context) (Data, error) {
 		},
 		NGFResourceCounts:              graphResourceCount,
 		ImageSource:                    c.cfg.ImageSource,
+		BuildOS:                        buildOs,
 		FlagNames:                      c.cfg.Flags.Names,
 		FlagValues:                     c.cfg.Flags.Values,
 		SnippetsFiltersDirectives:      snippetsFiltersDirectives,
diff --git a/internal/controller/telemetry/collector_test.go b/internal/controller/telemetry/collector_test.go
index 8c749fdfbe..b73f236863 100644
--- a/internal/controller/telemetry/collector_test.go
+++ b/internal/controller/telemetry/collector_test.go
@@ -172,6 +172,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Collector", Ordered, func() {
 			NGFResourceCounts:              telemetry.NGFResourceCounts{},
 			ControlPlanePodCount:           1,
 			ImageSource:                    "local",
+			BuildOS:                        "alpine",
 			FlagNames:                      flags.Names,
 			FlagValues:                     flags.Values,
 			SnippetsFiltersDirectives:      []string{},
@@ -193,6 +194,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Collector", Ordered, func() {
 			Version:                   version,
 			PodNSName:                 podNSName,
 			ImageSource:               "local",
+			BuildOS:                   "alpine",
 			Flags:                     flags,
 			NginxOneConsoleConnection: true,
 		})
@@ -519,6 +521,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Collector", Ordered, func() {
 				expData.NginxPodCount = int64(8)
 				expData.ControlPlanePodCount = int64(2)
 				expData.NginxOneConnectionEnabled = true
+				expData.BuildOS = "alpine"
 
 				data, err := dataCollector.Collect(ctx)
 				Expect(err).ToNot(HaveOccurred())
diff --git a/internal/controller/telemetry/data.avdl b/internal/controller/telemetry/data.avdl
index c19881315a..a131d91bc4 100644
--- a/internal/controller/telemetry/data.avdl
+++ b/internal/controller/telemetry/data.avdl
@@ -114,5 +114,8 @@ attached at the Gateway level. */
 		/** NginxOneConnectionEnabled is a boolean that indicates whether the connection to the Nginx One Console is enabled. */
 		boolean? NginxOneConnectionEnabled = null;
 		
+		/** BuildOS is the base operating system the control plane was built on (e.g. alpine, ubi). */
+		string? BuildOS = null;
+		
 	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/controller/telemetry/data_attributes_generated.go b/internal/controller/telemetry/data_attributes_generated.go
index 3b8b3dcf3f..3423c902c9 100644
--- a/internal/controller/telemetry/data_attributes_generated.go
+++ b/internal/controller/telemetry/data_attributes_generated.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ func (d *Data) Attributes() []attribute.KeyValue {
 	attrs = append(attrs, attribute.Int64("NginxPodCount", d.NginxPodCount))
 	attrs = append(attrs, attribute.Int64("ControlPlanePodCount", d.ControlPlanePodCount))
 	attrs = append(attrs, attribute.Bool("NginxOneConnectionEnabled", d.NginxOneConnectionEnabled))
+	attrs = append(attrs, attribute.String("BuildOS", d.BuildOS))
 
 	return attrs
 }
diff --git a/internal/controller/telemetry/data_test.go b/internal/controller/telemetry/data_test.go
index 49c8e3543c..03b36f9a2b 100644
--- a/internal/controller/telemetry/data_test.go
+++ b/internal/controller/telemetry/data_test.go
@@ -86,6 +86,7 @@ func TestDataAttributes(t *testing.T) {
 		attribute.Int64("NginxPodCount", 3),
 		attribute.Int64("ControlPlanePodCount", 3),
 		attribute.Bool("NginxOneConnectionEnabled", true),
+		attribute.String("BuildOS", ""),
 	}
 
 	result := data.Attributes()
@@ -132,6 +133,7 @@ func TestDataAttributesWithEmptyData(t *testing.T) {
 		attribute.Int64("NginxPodCount", 0),
 		attribute.Int64("ControlPlanePodCount", 0),
 		attribute.Bool("NginxOneConnectionEnabled", false),
+		attribute.String("BuildOS", ""),
 	}
 
 	result := data.Attributes()
diff --git a/tests/suite/telemetry_test.go b/tests/suite/telemetry_test.go
index 2ad0c0b3a0..bc57c1ca1e 100644
--- a/tests/suite/telemetry_test.go
+++ b/tests/suite/telemetry_test.go
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ var _ = Describe("Telemetry test with OTel collector", Label("telemetry"), func(
 				"NginxPodCount: Int(0)",
 				"ControlPlanePodCount: Int(1)",
 				"NginxOneConnectionEnabled: Bool(false)",
+				"BuildOS:",
 			},
 		)
 	})