The Cost of Insularity on Network Latency: A Case Study in the Mediterranean

Islands face unique challenges in Internet connectivity due to their geographic isolation, geopolitical factors, and economic limitations. In this study, we present the first analysis of the Internet performance on the major Mediterranean islands, focusing on latency and traversed paths. By systematically comparing measurements from insular and mainland regions, we show that insular Internet connections exhibit higher latency and follow routing paths that are longer, more circuitous, and traverse sets of autonomous systems with different characteristics. We believe our results highlight performance gaps and can contribute to a better understanding of the Internet characteristics and limitations of insular regions.