Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a protocol that allows for the fastest and most efficient routing of internet traffic.   The owner of an IPv4 Address subnet asks their upstream internet service provider to route specific IPv4 subnets now smaller than a /24 to route traffic using the best method of delivery.  BGP is responsible for assessing all of the available internet routes that data can travel and then choose the best option, which usually means hopping between Autonomous Systems (AS) numbers that represent the upstream internet providers network..