Georgia to Fiji: How a Pacific Island Gets Its Internet via London
Based on real RIPE Atlas measurements from GeoCables monitoring infrastructure, March 2026
At
370ms, the route from Tbilisi, Georgia to Suva, Fiji is one of the most geographically extreme paths in our measurement database. Fiji sits in the middle of the South Pacific — as far from Europe and Central Asia as it is possible to get on this planet. Yet the traceroute reveals a path that goes west before going east, passing through London before arriving in Sydney and finally Suva.
The Traceroute
| Hop | Location | Network | RTT |
|---|
| 1–6 | Tbilisi, GE | JSC Global Erty (AS34666) | 26ms |
| 7 | Sofia, BG | Level 3 (AS3356) | 25ms |
| 8 | (timeout) | — | — |
| 9 | London, GB | Level 3 (AS3356) | 333ms |
| 10 | Sydney, AU | AARNet (AS7575) | 365ms |
| 11 | Adelaide, AU | AARNet (AS7575) | 371ms |
| 12 | Suva, FJ | University of the South Pacific (AS24390) | 370ms |
The most dramatic jump: Sofia (25ms) to London (333ms) — a
308ms leap crossing the Atlantic and Pacific in a single BGP hop. This is Level 3's backbone routing Fiji-bound traffic through its UK hub before handing off to AARNet, Australia's academic research network.
Why Does Fiji Traffic Go Through London?
Fiji's internet connectivity is dominated by two cables:
Southern Cross (connecting Fiji to Australia, New Zealand, and the US West Coast) and
Tui (domestic). The last-mile provider here is the
University of the South Pacific (AS24390) — Fiji's main academic network, which peers with AARNet in Sydney.
Level 3 (now Lumen Technologies) routes all Oceania-bound traffic through its London PoP because that's where its peering agreements with AARNet are concentrated. Rather than routing Tbilisi→Middle East→India→Singapore→Australia, the packet takes the counterintuitive path westward through Europe.
Three Networks, One Journey
Leg 1 — Caucasus to Europe: JSC Global Erty carries traffic from Tbilisi through Sofia, where it enters Level 3's global backbone. RTT of 26ms from Tbilisi to Sofia (~2,000km) is consistent with terrestrial fiber through Turkey or the Black Sea.
Leg 2 — London to Sydney: The 308ms jump from Sofia to London masks an enormous journey. Level 3's backbone routes this via a transatlantic cable to New York, then transpacific to Sydney — roughly 25,000km of submarine cable. AARNet (Australian Academic and Research Network) takes over in Sydney.
Leg 3 — Sydney to Suva: AARNet carries the packet from Sydney to Adelaide, then across the Coral Sea to Fiji via the
Southern Cross Cable Network, which has a landing point at Suva. Total submarine distance: ~3,200km.
The Final Mile: University Network
It's worth noting that the destination — AS24390, University of the South Pacific — is Fiji's main academic internet gateway. The University of the South Pacific serves 12 Pacific island nations and acts as the primary internet backbone for much of Fiji's institutional connectivity.
What an Optimal Route Would Look Like
A geographically optimal path would go east from Georgia:
- Tbilisi → Istanbul → Middle East → Singapore via AAE-1 or SEA-ME-WE cables: ~100ms
- Singapore → Sydney via SEA-ME-WE or direct Pacific cables: ~80ms
- Sydney → Suva via Southern Cross: ~35ms
-
Total theoretical: ~215ms — 40% faster than current 370ms
Monitoring Status
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Current RTT: 370ms |
Path: Tbilisi → Sofia → London → Sydney → Adelaide → Suva
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Key carriers: Level 3 → AARNet → University of the South Pacific
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Final network: AS24390 (academic gateway for 12 Pacific island nations)