Earlier this year, China set a new record by commercially launching the world’s first 10G broadband network, reaching download speeds of 9,834 Mbps while maintaining an extremely low latency of just 3 milliseconds. For comparison, according to an nPerf study, in 2024, fixed Internet operators in Romania recorded average latency values between 22.61 and 32.35 milliseconds. This accelerated evolution of network infrastructure highlights how important network latency has become in today’s digital context.
At M247 Global, we understand that latency can be a costly challenge. That’s why we provide our customers with an advanced edge network featuring over 55 Points of Presence (PoPs) worldwide, delivering high-speed, low-latency connectivity via 10–100 Gbps backbone infrastructure.
Latency — the delay that occurs during the transmission of data between two points in a network — has become a real competitive factor. In finance, gaming, streaming, e-commerce, healthcare, cloud services, and other real-time use cases, differences of just a few milliseconds can translate into lost customers, missed opportunities, significant costs, or even security or legal issues. Over a quarter of global companies (28%) have lost up to 5 million dollars due to outages and poor network performance, with nearly as many already exceeding this threshold. It’s no wonder that network and connectivity have risen on the boardroom agenda: 43% of companies say they will invest heavily in this area over the next 12 months, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) report, “Enterprise Horizons 2025.”
Precisely to bring these services closer to end users and reduce the impact of latency, the global M247 network was built, featuring over 55 Points of Presence (PoPs) and direct connections with major Internet Exchange Points (IXPs). This ensures fast and reliable data delivery, global scalability, and consistent performance for customers’ critical applications, regardless of location.
Which industries are most affected by increased network latency?
#1 Finance
In finance, high latency can mean major losses if buy/sell orders arrive later than competitors’, for example in high-frequency trading (HFT) transactions. Latency leads to delayed order execution at unfavorable prices and decisions based on outdated market data. Loss of synchronization between systems can cause processing errors, duplicate orders, incorrect reporting, or non-compliance with regulations. Audit issues may also arise, including inconsistencies between displayed, recorded, and executed data, as well as degradation of user experience and trust in financial applications (mobile banking, retail trading, or crypto).
Coinbase, one of the largest online platforms for buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrencies, set an example. The company announced on January 14, 2025, that it was investigating delays in Ripple (XRP) transfers. Similar issues affected Stellar (XLM) on January 10 and other functionalities on January 9 — all of which were resolved quickly (within 90 minutes and two hours respectively) to minimize the impact on customers.
#2 Healthcare
Since 2011, Romania has had an emergency telemedicine network, extended across numerous hospitals in the country, which even allows remote monitoring of patients’ vital signs through dedicated equipment. Network latency issues in systems and networks of this type can delay the real-time transmission of medical data, leading to delayed critical decisions and urgent medical interventions. In remote consultations, high latency affects the quality of video and audio communication between doctor and patient, resulting in the loss of vital information. Latency can cause serious errors in robot-assisted surgical procedures or other digitally guided interventions, affect automatic alert systems, and disrupt synchronization between different medical IT systems.
#3 E-commerce
Studies from the past decade clearly show: the longer visitors wait on an e-commerce website, the lower the chances they will complete a purchase and appreciate the brand. In a previous article, we saw that Google recommends an optimal page load time of under 2 seconds for e-commerce sites in 2025.
But beyond customer frustration, network latency also causes delays in order processing and issues with stock and price synchronization. These lead to displaying incorrect information to customers, complaints, or even legal problems. Let’s revisit the 2014 incident when eMag mistakenly sold 730 products, such as smartphones and Full HD TVs, at prices as low as 8 RON, resulting in total losses exceeding 1.15 million RON. Although in this case the issue was a human error, network latency can cause similar problems and damages (see the Amazon Prime Day incident in 2018). Additionally, latency affects the operation of live chat/customer support services, as well as recommendation and personalization systems, lowering the overall quality of services.
#4 Streaming
Network latency issues in streaming — whether live (sports events or webinars) or via platforms like Netflix or HBO Max — cause delays, interruptions in audio-video flow, or even audio-video desynchronization. Some platforms reduce image and sound quality to compensate for the delay. In interactive streaming (entertainment shows and live TV broadcasts, educational streaming, real-time auctions, or online betting), high latency causes delays in reactions and delayed display of messages or results, which can lead to financial losses or even legal problems. Netflix was sued by a subscriber due to technical issues (desynchronizations of the broadcast, freezing images) encountered during the live transmission of a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
#5 Gaming
In gaming, major issues arise such as lag (the delay between a player’s action and what happens in the game), desynchronization (desync: players see different situations in the game, commands are registered late or incorrectly etc.), and rubberbanding (the character being snapped back to a previous position due to lag). High latency can therefore make the difference between winning and losing in online multiplayer games. It’s no surprise that 78% of gamers quit the game because of latency issues (rage-quitting), given that 95% of players experience such problems during gameplay, according to a study conducted by Liquid Web.
M247 Global – a strategic partner for edge networking
For companies facing issues caused by network latency, M247 offers customizable integrated solutions that ensure high performance and maximum reliability. M247 Global operates an edge network with over 55 Points of Presence (PoPs) worldwide, offering high-speed, low-latency connectivity through 10-100 Gbps network backbones. This infrastructure supports seamless performance for businesses requiring fast and reliable IP Transit solutions, with speeds reaching up to 100 Gbps across 32 international cities in 27 countries. With M247 Global, your business stays as close as possible to your end customers.
Operating enterprise-class data centers with dedicated servers and Tier 3+ facilities, M247 Global provides secure and scalable colocation services ideal for low latency applications.
MPLS IPVPN connectivity ensures private and fast data exchange between multiple locations, reducing operational costs and optimizing workflows. Additionally, 24/7 proactive monitoring and real-time visibility allow prompt detection and resolution of any issues, thus maintaining optimal network performance.
M247 offers fully managed network solutions that reduce operational burden and ensure a stable, high-performing IT infrastructure. For more details, contact us at sales@m247.eu.