Why your VPN works perfectly in London but barely connects in Jakarta isn’t a bug—it’s geography.

After managing VPN services across 100+ countries, I’ve learned that “global coverage” on a map tells you nothing about actual user experience. The world isn’t flat when it comes to internet infrastructure. And that reality shapes everything we do in IT service management.

Let me show you what I mean:

Western Europe: The Easy Mode
-Dense fiber infrastructure
-Multiple tier-1 ISPs competing
-Predictable network paths
-Strong data center presence
Result: Sub-100ms latency, 99%+ connection success rates

Southeast Asia: The Archipelago Challenge
-Traffic often routes through Singapore—even between neighbouring countries
-Undersea cable dependency (and occasional breaks)
-ISP throttling of encrypted traffic varies wildly
-Government filtering adds latency layers
Result: Same server, 3x different experiences depending on which island you’re on

Middle East: The Regulatory Maze
-VPN protocols blocked or throttled by national policy
-Limited peering between countries—traffic goes to Europe and back
-Port blocking forces protocol switching
-Deep packet inspection at national gateways
Result: What works in UAE might not work 200km away in Saudi Arabia

Sub-Saharan Africa: The Infrastructure Reality
-Limited local server options
-International bandwidth costs much more than Europe
-Last-mile connectivity highly variable
-Power infrastructure affects data center reliability
Result: It’s not about our service quality—it’s about foundational infrastructure gaps

Even within the same city, user experience varies by ISP:
-Some throttle VPN traffic aggressively
-Some have better international peering
-Some use outdated equipment
-Some actively interfere with encrypted connections

We can’t control the ISP. We can only adapt to it.

What this means for service management:
→ One-size-fits-all SLAs don’t work.
→ Server placement isn’t just about coverage—it’s about understanding local internet topology.
→ Protocol flexibility is mandatory. What works in Germany won’t work in Vietnam.
→ Regional monitoring is essential. Global averages hide local disasters.
→ User education matters. Sometimes “slow VPN” isn’t our fault—it’s a 3G connection on a remote island.

The hardest conversation I have:

Why is your service slow in “my country”?

The honest answer: “Because your country’s internet infrastructure is fundamentally different, and there are limits to what we can overcome.”

But we try anyway. Different protocols. Different routing. Different server strategies. Different expectations.

Geography isn’t just physical distance. It’s regulatory environments, infrastructure investment, ISP behaviour, and political decisions.

And all of it lands on the IT Service Manager’s desk – making sure that regardless of all of the obstacles, our user could enjoy the best service available.