Research Article
On the Prevalence of Boomerang Routing in Africa: Analysis and Potential Solutions
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-319-98878-8_1, author={Assane Gueye and Babacar Mbaye}, title={On the Prevalence of Boomerang Routing in Africa: Analysis and Potential Solutions}, proceedings={Innovations and Interdisciplinary Solutions for Underserved Areas. Second International Conference, InterSol 2018, Kigali, Rwanda, March 24--25, 2018, Proceedings}, proceedings_a={INTERSOL}, year={2018}, month={9}, keywords={Africa Boomerang ICT e-Trading Internet access cost Delay}, doi={10.1007/978-3-319-98878-8_1} }- Assane Gueye
Babacar Mbaye
Year: 2018
On the Prevalence of Boomerang Routing in Africa: Analysis and Potential Solutions
INTERSOL
Springer
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-98878-8_1
Abstract
When an African Internet user sends a message to a friend in another country in the continent, the data travels around the world (mostly Europe and USA) before coming back to the continent. This phenomenon is called at the continent level. The implications of boomerang routing include: higher cost, increased delay and increased information exposure. In this paper, we use active measurement data (ICMP traceroute) from 2015 and 2016 to empirically study the prevalence of boomerang routing in Africa by focusing on the implications on cost and delay. We also discussed possible improvements of the current African connectivity map to reduce boomerang routing, which will eventually translate into reduced cost and lower delays for end-users.