Why Is Your International Internet Connectivity Slow?

When browsing the internet or using apps that require an internet connection, you expect a certain speed and reliability. However, if you try to access international websites or servers, the connection can often feel quite slow compared to local sites. There are several reasons why international internet connectivity tends to be slower.

Longer Physical Distances

One of the biggest factors is simply the longer physical distance the data has to travel between your device and an international server. Even at the speed of light, it takes time for data to cover long distances, especially when having to pass through various network infrastructure along the way. The greater the distance, the higher the latency (delay).

Undersea Cables and Satellite Hops

Most international internet connectivity today relies on a backbone of undersea fiber optic cables stretching across the oceans combined with satellites in orbit. There are limited numbers of these cables globally covering certain key routes. The available capacity on any given route can experience congestion during peak periods. Data packets sometimes have to make multiple satellite “hops” too, which increases latency.

Limited International Bandwidth

There is vastly more fiber and bandwidth available for domestic connectivity within countries. Companies invest primarily to meet local demand. Connections between countries have less capacity in comparison to handle growing international traffic volumes from consumers and businesses. Uptime is also lower on some international routes. This contributes to slower speeds and reliability issues.

Complex Routing Paths

A domestic connection just has to travel from your ISP to a local data center or web hosting provider. But internationally, data must be routed through perhaps dozens of networks and additional infrastructure hops across multiple countries. There are often multiple subsea and terrestrial links. This complex path leaves more potential failure points. Any congestion or technical faults along the way impact all traffic.

Packet Loss Over Long Distances

Due to the nature of packet-switched internet traffic, data sent from source to destination gets broken into many small packets. These individual packets do not necessarily follow the same path to the destination. On very long journeys with many routes, some packet loss is inevitable. Lost packets have to be re-sent, causing lag. This gets worse when networks are congested.

Differing Infrastructure Investment Globally

Internet backbone infrastructure, especially high-capacity fiber networks, are still developing around the world. Some countries and regions have excellent connectivity domestically and to international hubs, while remote areas still lack adequate broadband connectivity options entirely. These differences in infrastructure capabilities globally contribute to an inconsistent experience accessing the international internet.

Geo-blocking and Government Controls

In some cases, connectivity issues arise due to geo-blocking restrictions and government internet controls. Sites and services sometimes intentionally limit international connectivity. Overt government censorship controls like China’s Great Firewall add to connectivity lags too due to inspecting packets. And internet shutdowns temporarily make connecting internationally impossible in extreme cases when local networks go dark.

Internet Service Provider Limitations

The bandwidth capacity, connectivity options, routing policies and technical capabilities of your local ISP plays a major role. An ISP may offer blazing fast local speeds. But limitations on their connections to and peering relationships with international networks introduces bottlenecks for foreign traffic. For this reason, some business connectivity options focusing more on reliable international transmission speeds are available.

Network Security Controls

Firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, and filtering functionality implemented across networks for security purposes can sometimes impede connectivity speeds. Deep packet inspection and analysis adds overhead. Strict controls block traffic entirely in some cases unless exceptions are made. Careful balancing for security and performance is necessary to avoid impacting transmission speeds unnecessarily.

Final Words

Now you know why your international internet connectivity can get slow. If you are experiencing this, make sure to get in touch with your ISP. Then you will be able to get a better idea behind the root cause. Along with that, you can proceed to find a solution to the issue you face as well.