UDP checks from the Tirana node send a packet to the specified port and wait for any response within the timeout window. This is useful for testing DNS resolvers, WireGuard or OpenVPN UDP endpoints, game servers, and SIP infrastructure that serves Albanian or Balkan users. Since UDP is connectionless, a no-response result means either the port is closed, the firewall is silently dropping, or the application did not send a reply packet.

Albanian ISP infrastructure does not block UDP outbound on standard commercial connections. If a UDP check from Tirana returns no response while TCP on an adjacent port succeeds, the likely cause is firewall policy on the target side — either explicit UDP blocking or a security group not configured to allow the protocol. WireGuard endpoints, in particular, will not respond to UDP probes unless the peer is configured and authenticated.

For game server operators or VPN providers targeting Balkan users, a UDP check from Tirana alongside checks from Belgrade, Sofia, and Bucharest gives you a clear picture of regional reachability. The RTT from Tirana to Belgrade is around 15–22 ms, to Sofia around 18–25 ms — both within acceptable range for real-time UDP applications such as QUIC-based services or gaming protocols.

Albania's internet infrastructure is concentrated in Tirana, where the majority of the country's carrier infrastructure, colocation, and peering is located. AITEX (Albanian Internet Exchange) is the primary national IX, providing a domestic peering point that reduces the need for Albanian ISPs to hair-pin traffic through Vienna or Frankfurt. Keminet SHPK (AS197706) is one of the largest domestic providers and operates significant infrastructure within Tirana, including the node used for our checks.

International transit from Albania primarily exits via submarine cable and terrestrial links toward Italy and Greece. The Tirana-to-Rome path runs approximately 25–30 ms over well-routed paths, and Tirana-to-Vienna sits around 30–35 ms. These figures put Albania within usable reach of Central and Western European CDN infrastructure, though latency is noticeably higher than from hub countries like Germany or the Netherlands. Providers with direct links to Telecom Italia or A1 Telekom Austria tend to show the best RTTs.

The Albanian backbone is served by a small number of major carriers. Albtelecom (AS8774) operates the legacy fixed-line infrastructure and holds significant transit market share. IPKO (AS34772) and Digitalb serve the mobile and broadband segments. Keminet (AS197706) competes as a commercial ISP and hosting provider. BGP routing tables for Albanian prefixes are relatively compact, with most originated prefixes falling under a handful of upstream transit providers including GTT (AS3257), Cogent (AS174), and Telia (AS1299).

Albania is an EU candidate country, which has driven investment in infrastructure and regulatory alignment with EU frameworks. Data center market growth has accelerated since 2020, with Tirana seeing new colocation facilities aimed at both domestic demand and regional hosting for Balkan-focused services. Keminet's own data center in Tirana is the primary facility backing our probe node. Connectivity between Tirana and other Balkan capitals — Skopje, Pristina, Podgorica — is generally better than older terrestrial maps would suggest, with direct Balkan transit links maturing over the past five years.

Our probe node runs in Tirana on AS197706 (Keminet SHPK). Results from this node reflect traffic conditions on one of Albania's largest commercial ISPs. For targets primarily accessed by Albanian residential users, results may differ slightly depending on whether the target is reachable via Albtelecom's residential network or through Keminet's commercial routing. Cross-referencing with nodes in Italy (Rome) and Greece gives a useful baseline for verifying whether high latency is Albania-side or origin-side.