Georgia to Philippines: 321ms the Wrong Way Around — Through the USA
Based on real RIPE Atlas measurements from GeoCables monitoring infrastructure, March 2026
The Philippines is 6,500km east of Georgia — a direct route via the Middle East and India would be the obvious choice. Instead, our traceroute shows traffic going west through Europe, then to Ashburn, then San Jose, then across the Pacific to Osaka — before finally reaching Manila. Total distance traveled: approximately 28,000km for a 6,500km destination.
The Traceroute
| Hop | Location | Network | RTT |
|---|
| 1–6 | Tbilisi, GE | JSC Global Erty (AS34666) | 26ms |
| 8 | Sofia, BG | Level 3 → NTT (AS2914) | 24ms |
| 9 | Sofia, BG | NTT America (AS2914) | 29ms |
| 10 | Milan, IT | NTT America (AS2914) | 50ms |
| 11 | Paris, FR | NTT America (AS2914) | 259ms |
| 12 | Ashburn, US | NTT America (AS2914) | 145ms |
| 13 | San Jose, US | NTT America (AS2914) | 202ms |
| 14 | Osaka, JP | NTT America (AS2914) | 319ms |
| 15–16 | Osaka, JP | NTT America (AS2914) | 323ms |
| 17–18 | Tokyo → Osaka, JP | Japan Registry (AS23774) | 321ms |
NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) carries this traffic all the way from Sofia to Osaka — through Paris, Ashburn, and San Jose — before the final delivery to the Philippines via Japan.
The NTT Paradox
NTT America (AS2914) is a Tier-1 carrier with one of the world's largest backbone networks. The routing Sofia→Paris→Ashburn→San Jose→Osaka seems absurd geographically, but makes perfect BGP sense:
NTT's backbone topology routes Asian traffic via its US hub because that's where NTT's largest Pacific cable infrastructure lands. NTT operates
PC-1 (transpacific),
Unity/EAJ, and
FASTER cables, all landing on the US West Coast. Traffic from Europe enters NTT's network in Sofia/Paris, rides the transatlantic leg to Ashburn, then the transcontinental US to San Jose, then transpacific to Osaka.
The Paris anomaly (259ms): Notice Paris shows 259ms despite being geographically closer to Sofia than Ashburn. This is a traceroute artifact — Paris is likely a router that processes ICMP with low priority, while the actual forwarding path is faster.
Why Not Through the Middle East?
A direct Tbilisi→Middle East→India→Singapore→Philippines path exists physically:
- Georgia is connected to the
AAE-1 cable via Turkey/Egypt
- AAE-1 lands in Singapore and connects onward to the Philippines via
SEA-ME-WE 3 or
AAG
- Theoretical RTT: ~150–170ms
But this would require Zain, Ooredoo, or another Middle Eastern carrier to provide the handoff — and the peering agreements aren't in place for this to happen automatically. NTT's backbone captures the traffic in Sofia and routes it according to NTT's internal topology.
Manila's Cable Connections
The Philippines has surprisingly good submarine cable diversity for a developing nation:
-
Asia-America Gateway (AAG): Philippines → US West Coast via Guam and Hawaii
-
SEA-ME-WE 3: Singapore → Philippines → Japan → US
-
AURORA: Philippines → Guam → Japan
-
SJC (South-East Asia Japan Cable): Philippines → Japan
Despite this, traffic from Georgia arrives via Japan rather than directly — because no carrier offers a competitive direct Georgia→Philippines route.
Monitoring Status
-
Current RTT: 321ms |
Carrier: NTT America end-to-end from Sofia to Osaka
-
Path: Tbilisi → Sofia → Milan → Paris → Ashburn → San Jose → Osaka → Manila
-
Distance irony: 28,000km traveled to reach a destination 6,500km away