Global Internet Detours: Why Data Takes the Long Way Around
Imagine your internet traffic transforming into a traveler embarking on a long journey across continents. This is exactly what happened to a data packet that was supposed to connect Sevastopol (UA) and Assa Sul in the Federal District of Brazil (BR). GeoCables recorded that instead of taking a direct route of 10,791 km, the packet deviated by 7,762 km from the shortest path, reaching New York before returning to Brazil. The resulting delay was 381 milliseconds, nearly four times the physical minimum (~108 ms).
Why does the route pass through such nodes?
The main networks through which this traffic passed include Lancom Ltd, MegaFon, Hurricane Electric, and CTGNet. These providers are major transit and local operators, playing a key role in global routing. For example, Hurricane Electric, one of the world's largest internet transit operators, is known for its robust peering agreements with numerous networks. However, the lack of direct connections or more efficient peering agreements between key nodes in Russia, Europe, and South America caused the traffic to detour through New York.
Such deviations are often driven by transit economics: operators choose routes that minimize their own costs rather than the response time for the end user. Submarine cable landing points also play a role. For instance, New York is a critical hub for connections between Europe and America, making it a natural choice for routing, even if it adds significant distance.
Practical implications for users
A delay of 381 milliseconds might seem minor, but it has a significant impact on modern applications that require minimal response times. Video calls become choppy as the delay leads to untimely synchronization of speech and video. In online gaming, where every millisecond counts, such an RTT can be fatal for players, especially in competitive matches. For financial trading, where transaction speed is critical, the delay can result in market losses. Cloud services, such as accessing remote servers or data processing, also suffer: users experience increased loading and response times.
Infrastructure context: why traffic goes "off course"
Routing internet traffic is a complex process influenced by numerous factors, from the availability of submarine cables to economic agreements between operators. In this case, despite the existence of cables connecting Europe and South America directly, the traffic was routed through New York because effective connections between the regions were not utilized. Sevastopol is connected to the network via Lancom Ltd and MegaFon, which rely on European nodes to access the global network. This forces the traffic to first traverse Europe before reaching South America.
Real-world context of events
Events recorded nearby add color to the routing picture, although they are not the cause of this internet detour. For instance, on November 3, 2026, Bulgaria declared a green level of danger due to floods located 449 km from the route. Earlier, on October 29, a similar situation occurred in Romania (418 km), and on October 21 in Ukraine (49 km). However, GeoCables data confirms that the detour was solely caused by routing characteristics, not natural disasters or other events.
GeoCables not only tracks packet routes but also uncovers the reasons for their deviations, providing expert insights into the global network.
