I can speak for Google, not AWS or Azure. Google's network is smart in several ways: - If you are trying to send a packet from one Google AZ to another, it wil

I can speak for Google, not AWS or Azure. Google's network is smart in several ways: - If you are trying to send a packet from one Google AZ to another, it will traverse Google network only, never hitting the public web.. without a VPN/VPC setup - If you are trying to reach a service on Google Network, you hit the Google frontend at one of the many Points of Presence around the world, from which point it's a straight path to nearest DC - If you are trying to reach a customer from your VMs on Google, your packet will be taken as close to your customer as possible on Google backbone For "cheaper egress" there are CDN providers, and both AWS and Google have their own CDNs as well.