1. A method comprises: generating, by a first computing device, an initial routing plan that identifies a plurality of network paths for transmitting encoded data slices of an encoded data segment from the first computing device to a second computing device, wherein each network path of the plurality of network paths includes one or more relay units, wherein a data segment was dispersed storage error encoded to produce the encoded data segment, wherein the encoded data segment includes a set of encoded data slices, and wherein a decode threshold number of encoded data slices of the set of encoded data slices is needed to recover the data segment by the second computing device; sending, by the first computing device, a plurality of subsets of encoded data slices to the plurality of network paths; and within a network path of the plurality of network paths: determining, by a relay unit of the one or more relay units of the network path, whether the network path defined by the initial routing plan requires adjusting based on characteristics of other network paths of the plurality of network paths and the decode threshold number of encoded data slices being received by the second computing device; when the network path requires adjusting, establishing, by the relay unit, an adjusted network path by at least one of: adding a relay unit to the one or more relay units; and deleting a relay unit from the one or more relay units; and sending, via the adjusted network path, a corresponding subset of the plurality of subsets of encoded data slices to the second computing device.