Connecting to the same local mobile network abroad does not guarantee the same experience on a travel eSIM, according to an analysis by Ookla that Ubigi, Transatel’s global eSIM service and part of the NTT Group, has highlighted. Once a signal is established, the route data takes to its internet breakout point can change latency and responsiveness significantly.
Ookla used Speedtest data from Android devices collected in the second quarter of 2026 across about 190 destination countries, covering more than 50 travel eSIM brands, their wholesale networks and their breakout points. For the least favourable brand-and-destination combinations, latency was up to 30 times higher than for local mobile users on the same network. Tests flagged as using a VPN were excluded.
The example Ookla gave was a single Japanese network, where median latency ran from 54 ms with local routing to 543 ms when traffic went through Madrid, despite identical radio conditions. Video calls, voice calls and online gaming are the applications most likely to notice.
Ubigi measured a median download speed of 75.89 Mbps, and 62% of its samples were on 5G, the highest share among the major brands in the analysis. Its core network, run by Transatel, has seven packet gateways across Europe, Asia, North America and South America, so traffic can break out close to the user.
That architecture also supports Smart IP, which lets users in ten countries, including the UK, choose between a local IP address and one from their home country without changing the route their data takes. Ubigi says that unlike a VPN, this adds no detour.
“Ookla’s analysis brings this technical layer into view and confirms the importance of an operator architecture designed on a global scale,” said Marie-Julie Le Guen, Head of Ubigi. Ubigi’s view is that the industry should tell travellers more about actual 5G access, throttling policies and the location of breakout points.
The speed and 5G figures are Ubigi’s own results from the Ookla data, and the analysis was published by Ookla at ookla.com.
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