Why Is Gaming Latency So High in Australia? How to Improve Cross-Region Connections During the Cable Outage

Recent submarine cable faults have affected key international network paths between Australia and Asia. Vocus has confirmed a break on the Australia Singapore Cable in Indonesian waters, while Indigo West is also still under repair.

Traffic that would normally use a more direct route to Singapore and other Asian destinations is now being sent through longer backup paths. Some routes have even travelled through the United States, Japan, or Hong Kong before reaching Singapore. For players connecting to Asian or North American servers, this can mean high ping, packet loss, rubber-banding, and unstable matches.

This is not limited to one game. Players in Apex Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, Where Winds Meet, and other titles that rely on Asian or North American servers may see similar problems. Australia often has smaller local player populations and longer queue times, so many players already need to play cross-region. The current international routing disruption makes that much harder.

↑Submarine Cable Diagram

Why Has Cross-Region Ping Increased So Much?

Game traffic would normally use a shorter route from Australia to Singapore, then continue through Asian networks to the game server. With cable capacity affected, ISPs have to distribute traffic across other available paths.

This is more than ordinary slow internet. Data may now cross more countries, network providers, and transfer points. A longer route increases latency, while backup routes carrying extra traffic can also create packet loss and unstable ping.

Upgrading to a faster broadband plan will not necessarily fix this. More bandwidth can help with capacity inside your home, but it cannot repair a damaged cable or prevent international game traffic from taking a long detour.

Why Are Local Servers Fine but Asian or North American Servers Lagging?

If Australian servers feel normal while Asian or North American servers are unstable, your PC, console, or phone is probably not the main cause.

Local traffic does not need to cross the affected international routes. Connections to servers in Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, or North America do. With some direct low-latency capacity to Asia affected, cross-region game traffic is more likely to take congested or indirect backup routes.

This can create a familiar pattern:

• Websites, video, and downloads still appear normal.
• Australian servers remain playable.
• Ping rises sharply when switching to Asian or North American servers.
• Ping may spike suddenly instead of staying consistently high.
• Packet loss, delayed shots, rubber-banding, and disconnects become worse during peak hours.

How GearUP Helps Australian Players During the Outage?

Until cable repairs are complete, GearUP can help find a more suitable alternative path for game traffic instead of relying entirely on your ISP’s current default international route.

Its purpose is not to increase broadband speed. It optimizes the route between Australia and Asian or North American game servers. When default routes are affected by detours, congestion, and unstable handoffs between providers, GearUP can help reduce latency, packet loss, and connection fluctuations.

Search for your game in GearUP, select the relevant Asian or North American server region, enable boosting, then launch the game and queue as usual.

GearUP is especially useful if you:

• Need Asian or North American servers because Australian matchmaking is too slow.
• Previously had acceptable cross-region ping that has suddenly become much higher.
• Experience packet loss, rubber-banding, delayed shots, or delayed skills on overseas servers.
• See major connection differences between server regions in the same game.
• Want to maintain a more playable cross-region connection while cable repairs continue.

How Long Will the Problem Last?

According to Vocus’s September 18, 2026 update, Indigo West is expected to be restored on October 24, followed by permanent repairs to the Australia Singapore Cable on November 4.

These dates depend on sea conditions, weather, repair-vessel work, permit requirements, and the complexity of repairs, so they may change. ISPs will continue adjusting backup routes in the meantime, and some routes may improve in stages. However, cross-region latency may not return to normal until direct cable capacity is fully restored.

If Asian or North American servers suddenly feel much worse from Australia, avoid assuming your device or game installation is at fault. The current limitation is the international route itself. GearUP provides a more direct way to improve cross-region gaming connections while repairs are underway.