Colorado Springs routing through Chicago: update
*tl;dr T-Mobile improved some routes, but most latency is nerfed.*
*(*[*Follow up to my last post*](https://www.reddit.com/r/tfiber/comments/1v14x1z/colorado_traffic_is_routing_through_chicago_again/)*)*
Traffic from Colorado Springs has been routing out of state in a consistent way until October 12, when T-Fiber changed routing. There were a complex series of changes, so this is a simplification. One day was a big upgrade: traffic to Colorado Springs was 6-8 ms, Denver was 4-6 ms, except Google which was 14ms.
Then on October 14, most traffic was routing out of state again, but 12 hours later (Oct 14 10pm) 8.8.8.8 responded faster than Metronet's speed test server.
There was a brief improvement for \~12 hours October 19-20. Since then, most traffic is out of state except one host in Colorado Springs (Force Broadband) and 8.8.8.8. Other hosts in Colorado Springs and Denver are much slower.
Below is a snapshot of the current T-Fiber status.
Meanwhile, G-Fiber will be replacing Ting in Colorado Springs.
# Ping: DNS servers
*I wonder which one I should use? /s*
Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 24.1/25.6/28.1 1.0.0.1 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 23.9/25.5/27.8 1.1.1.3 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 23.1/24.7/27.1 1.0.0.3 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 23.5/25.3/27.3
Google 8.8.8.8 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 2.31/3.90/5.92 8.8.4.4 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 2.31/3.77/6.25
Quad9 9.9.9.9 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 21.2/22.6/25.1 149.112.112.112 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 21.3/22.9/25.1
AdGuard 94.140.14.15 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 45.6/47.1/49.9 94.140.15.16 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 45.5/47.3/53.0
OpenDNS 208.67.222.123 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 21.2/22.9/25.0 208.67.220.123 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 60/60/0%, min/avg/max = 21.4/22.9/32.2
# Ping: Hosts physically in Colorado
*Five stay local, seven route through another state.*
speedtest.clspcoaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 0.983/2.68/6.15 speedtest.coloradomtn.edu : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 3.30/4.55/6.83 speedtest.dnvrco26.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 3.91/5.85/10.8 speedtest.pcisys.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 4.55/5.97/8.32 speedtest.forcebb.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/49/2%, min/avg/max = 5.39/7.09/8.54 speedtest.den.sharktech.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 21.6/23.5/29.9 lg-dene.fdcservers.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 21.4/23.5/46.2 speedtest.stratusiq.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/49/2%, min/avg/max = 25.7/27.3/29.6 denver.speedtest.centurylink.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 30.3/31.9/33.8 coloradosprings.speedtest.centurylink.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/49/2%, min/avg/max = 32.0/33.9/37.8 speedtest.springshosting.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 32.8/34.3/36.7 speedtest.coloradomesa.edu : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 45.7/47.5/49.6
# Ping: hosts in Texas
speedtest.dllstx97.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 21.9/23.6/29.4 lg-dfw.fdcservers.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/49/2%, min/avg/max = 32.8/34.5/38.4 speedtest.bryntxaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 35.0/36.6/40.7 dal.speedtest.clouvider.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 50.3/51.9/54.6
# Ping: Hosts in Chicago / Midwest
speedtest.chi1.nitelusa.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 21.3/23.2/29.0 lg-chie.fdcservers.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 21.4/23.8/57.9 speedtest.chi.sharktech.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 21.8/23.9/27.8 speedtest.oswgilaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 23.6/25.1/27.2 st1.tzulo.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 26.5/28.2/30.2 speedtest.zivlinaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 27.7/29.5/31.7 speedtest.rochmnaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 29.3/30.9/32.9 speedtest.bltnilaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 29.5/31.0/32.4 speedtest.amesiaaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 29.5/31.2/35.7 chi.speedtest.clouvider.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 29.3/31.2/39.6 speedtest.dvnpiaaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 30.2/31.9/33.8 chicago1.cabospeed.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 30.1/31.9/41.5 saint-paul2.speedtest.centurylink.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 35.5/38.5/84.5 duluth.speedtest.centurylink.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 37.5/38.9/41.8 rochester.speedtest.centurylink.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 37.4/39.8/64.1 st-cloud.speedtest.centurylink.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 38.9/40.4/42.4 chicago.il.speedtest.frontier.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 52.5/53.8/55.4 speedtest.lxtnkyaa.metronetinc.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 58.8/61.5/96.6
# Ping: CDN / anycast / other
www.fastly.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 2.60/4.31/14.5 us.patch.battle.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/49/2%, min/avg/max = 2.34/3.99/5.83 us.api.blizzard.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 2.46/4.03/10.9 battle.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 2.42/4.15/9.16 8.8.8.8 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 2.55/4.22/6.15 fonts.googleapis.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 12.3/14.0/17.1 prod.actual.battle.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 20.0/21.6/30.6 us.actual.battle.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 20.4/22.1/24.2 208.67.222.222 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 21.5/22.9/28.1 9.9.9.9 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/49/2%, min/avg/max = 21.1/23.6/43.0 i.scdn.co : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 22.2/23.9/34.8 1.1.1.1 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 24.0/25.7/36.8 mc.hypixel.net : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 25.0/26.5/28.7 www.akamai.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 31.5/33.1/36.3 94.140.14.14 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 50/50/0%, min/avg/max = 45.6/47.3/49.5
# Google: two latency tiers
DNS for these names returns different Google IP ranges, served from different sites over the same local path (mtr shows the same first hops as 8.8.8.8): \~4 ms for 8.8.8.8 and 142.251.x (www.google.com, googleapis.com), \~14 ms for 74.125.x (google.com), 172.253.x (fonts.googleapis.com), and 173.194.x (gstatic.com). The \~14 ms tier was already there during the Oct 12 in-state window, so it is probably Google's anycast rather than the Chicago routing.
www.google.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 10/10/0%, min/avg/max = 2.58/4.50/5.93 googleapis.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 10/9/10%, min/avg/max = 2.37/4.02/5.41 8.8.8.8 : xmt/rcv/%loss = 10/10/0%, min/avg/max = 2.48/4.22/6.38 google.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 10/10/0%, min/avg/max = 12.3/14.2/16.3 fonts.googleapis.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 10/10/0%, min/avg/max = 12.5/13.9/15.1 gstatic.com : xmt/rcv/%loss = 10/8/20%, min/avg/max = 12.6/13.7/15.5
# mtr (October 26)
Out-of-state traffic exits through Chicago on NTT's backbone: hop 3 (46-110-242-0-80.metronet.net) is already \~23 ms away, hop 4 is NTT's chcgil09 (Chicago), and Denver traffic hairpins back via dnvrco04. In-state traffic (8.8.8.8, pcisys) uses a different gateway (46.110.240.134) at \~4 ms.
8.8.8.8 (Google DNS, \~4 ms, stays local):
Start: 2026-10-26T21:04:48-0600 HOST: belk Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev 1.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.|-- 46.110.240.134 (46.110.240.134) 0.0% 10 3.9 4.0 3.0 5.5 0.8 4.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.|-- 192.178.86.63 (192.178.86.63) 0.0% 10 4.8 4.1 2.7 6.0 1.0 6.|-- 142.251.51.221 (142.251.51.221) 0.0% 10 3.4 4.1 2.7 6.5 1.2 7.|-- dns.google (8.8.8.8) 10.0% 10 4.6 4.4 2.7 5.5 0.8
speedtest.pcisys.net (Colorado Springs, \~6 ms, stays local):
Start: 2026-10-26T21:04:56-0600 HOST: belk Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev 1.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.|-- 46.110.240.134 (46.110.240.134) 0.0% 10 5.3 4.3 2.9 5.3 0.7 4.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.|-- 38.32.95.122 (38.32.95.122) 20.0% 10 3.9 4.4 2.9 6.5 1.3 6.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.|-- 38.75.249.254 (38.75.249.254) 0.0% 10 7.6 6.5 5.3 7.7 0.8 8.|-- speedtest.pcisys.net (216.229.32.117) 0.0% 10 5.0 6.3 5.0 8.4 1.1
speedtest.den.sharktech.net (Denver, \~23 ms, via Chicago):
Start: 2026-10-26T21:05:04-0600 HOST: belk Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev 1.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.|-- 46-110-242-0-80.metronet.net (46.110.242.80) 0.0% 10 23.7 23.4 22.1 25.8 1.1 4.|-- ae-25.a05.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net (128.241.8.46) 0.0% 10 21.9 22.7 21.7 24.2 1.0 5.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.|-- ae-2.a02.dnvrco04.us.bb.gin.ntt.net (129.250.3.161) 0.0% 10 22.0 23.1 22.0 24.1 0.9 7.|-- edge01.xe5-1.cogent.den.sharktech.net (70.39.96.241) 0.0% 10 24.5 23.7 22.2 24.7 1.0 8.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.|-- speedtest.den.sharktech.net (70.39.67.146) 0.0% 10 24.9 23.4 22.3 24.9 0.8
speedtest.chi.sharktech.net (Chicago, \~23 ms, same hop 4):
Start: 2026-10-26T21:05:13-0600 HOST: belk Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev 1.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.|-- 46-110-242-0-80.metronet.net (46.110.242.80) 0.0% 10 24.3 23.8 22.0 25.4 1.0 4.|-- ae-25.a05.chcgil09.us.bb.gin.ntt.net (128.241.8.46) 0.0% 10 23.3 23.3 21.5 24.5 1.1 5.|-- ntt.chi.sharktech.net (208.98.0.53) 40.0% 10 23.9 23.8 23.1 24.4 0.5 6.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 7.|-- speedtest.chi.sharktech.net (204.188.230.91) 0.0% 10 22.4 23.5 22.3 25.5 1.1
speedtest.dllstx97.metronetinc.com (Dallas, \~23 ms, inside Metronet's network):
Start: 2026-10-26T21:05:21-0600 HOST: belk Loss% Snt Last Avg Best Wrst StDev 1.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.|-- ??? 100.0 10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.|-- speedtest.dllstx97.metronetinc.com (195.252.239.253) 0.0% 10 22.2 23.4 22.2 24.2 0.7
For lasts stats, see my [live ping analytics dashboard](https://home-network-monitor.voidstream.workers.dev/dashboard/ping)