Why Sydney to Gqeberha Data Took a Detour via London
What do sunny Sydney, rainy London and South Africa's Gqeberha have in common? For an internet packet traveling from Australia to South Africa, it’s an unexpected route spanning three continents. Instead of covering the direct distance of 11,012 km, the data detoured an additional 9,671 km, reaching London before returning to Africa. As a result, the round-trip time (RTT) amounted to 468 milliseconds, which is four times the physical minimum of 110 milliseconds possible via a direct path. So, what went wrong?
Why did the traffic go through London?
The route, recorded by GeoCables on June 12, 2026, passed through several autonomous systems (AS): AS9268 (Over The Wire Pty Ltd) in Sydney, AS60171 (AFR-IX TELECOM S.A.) in Madrid and London, and AS37640 (Cape Connect Internet) in Cape Town. These are key network providers facilitating backbone data transit, but their choices in this case were far from optimal.
The primary reason for this delay was routing through London. Instead of taking a direct path across the Indian Ocean, the packet was sent to Europe due to the lack of direct peering between networks in Australia and South Africa. In such cases, data is routed through major internet hubs like London, which is one of the world’s key traffic exchange centers. However, this adds significant distance and, consequently, increases latency.
This transit economy is driven by the complex realities of infrastructure: submarine cables between Australia and Africa are limited, and existing routes (such as those across the Indian Ocean) are often congested or insufficiently integrated into global networks. Madrid and London became intermediate points because of their connection to the AFR-IX TELECOM network, which has a strong presence in Europe.
Practical implications for users
A delay of 468 milliseconds might seem minor, but in real life, it can lead to significant inconveniences. For video calls, such as those on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, this results in noticeable delays in audio and video transmission, making communication difficult. In online gaming, a delay of several hundred milliseconds can be critical, especially in fast-paced genres like shooters or MOBA games.
Financial markets and high-frequency trading systems also suffer from such delays. In a world where milliseconds can cost millions, such routes become unacceptable. Finally, cloud services like Google Drive or AWS rely on stable and fast connections, and high latency can slow down data uploads and reduce application performance.
Geopolitical and infrastructure context
Why does regional traffic take "wrong" directions? The answer lies in the global internet infrastructure. Submarine cables connecting continents play a key role in routing traffic, but their placement depends on numerous factors, including economic feasibility, geopolitical interests and geographical constraints. For example, there are no direct cables between Australia and South Africa, forcing traffic to detour through Europe.
This situation is exacerbated by limited cooperation between local and global providers. Many local operators prefer to route traffic through major backbone networks like AFR-IX TELECOM to save on maintaining their own channels. This creates bottlenecks and increases latency.
Real-world events: context, but not the cause
Interestingly, in the week leading up to GeoCables' measurements, several natural events were recorded near the route. On June 5, 2026, flooding occurred 593 km off South Africa, and on June 1, 2026, a similar event was observed in Belgium, just 352 km from London. However, GeoCables' data clearly shows that these events were unrelated to the routing: the issue lies within the network, not weather conditions. Nevertheless, such occurrences highlight the importance of resilient internet infrastructure in the face of natural threats.
Conclusion
The Sydney-Gqeberha route is a striking example of how the complex global internet system can lead to unexpected outcomes. Understanding the reasons behind such detours, whether it’s the absence of direct cables, inefficient peering or providers’ economic priorities, underscores the importance of investing in network infrastructure optimization. GeoCables continues to monitor such cases, uncovering hidden patterns and helping make the internet better for everyone.
