Baghdad, Iraq and Frankfurt, Germany 03 April 2025. DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, and IRAQ-IXP, the first and unique neutral Internet Exchange that serves all Iraqi regions, celebrate this month, with new milestones, the first anniversary of IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX. In just a year since IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX started operations, the IX has climbed the rankings to become the 3rd largest in the Middle East in terms of connected networks. IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX now has 28 networks connected and connecting, including global players such as Meta, Akamai, and Tencent. Peak traffic on the exchange has grown to almost 180 Gigabits per second (Gbit/s), up 150% since the beginning of January 2025.
The interconnection platform is hosted in the data center Iraq Connectivity Gateway (ICG) in Baghdad and operated by DE-CIX under the DE-CIX as a Service (DaaS) model. IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX is built on DE-CIX’s award-winning interconnection infrastructure, offering peering and enterprise-grade interconnection services. The interconnection platform serves as a hub for regional connectivity, enabling local networks low-latency interconnection and the localization of global content, while increasing network stability, scalability, and security.
“We are delighted by the strong growth of IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX in its first year of operations. Increasing numbers of national and international network operators want to offer services in Iraq as part of the vibrant local digital ecosystem growing around the exchange,” comments Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX, already the third largest in the Middle East and growing rapidly, serves the great demand in Iraq for increasing the speed, quality, and stability of Internet connectivity to guarantee the best experience possible for end users and businesses.”
“From the beginning, our vision was clear — to position Iraq as a digital hub for the region,” says Ahmed Rakwi, CEO of IRAQ-IXP. “Reaching the milestone of becoming the third-largest Internet Exchange in the Middle East within just one year is not only a reflection of our ambition, but also of the trust placed in us by global and local networks. Powered by DE-CIX, IRAQ-IXP is redefining connectivity standards in Iraq, and this is just the beginning”
DE-CIX, home to the largest neutral interconnection ecosystem in the world, has been active in the Middle East for more than a decade, and now operates IXs in multiple countries in the region: Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, and the UAE, as well as Turkey. IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX joins such success stories as the UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX in Dubai, also operated under the DaaS model. The DaaS program includes a set of services – such as installation, maintenance, provisioning, marketing and sales support – designed for carriers, data center operators, or other third parties to create their own Internet Exchange and interconnection platform fully operated by DE-CIX.
ENDS
About DE-CIX
DE-CIX, pronounced DEE-KICKS [dˈi:-kˈɪks], is the world’s leading operator of Internet Exchanges (IXs). DE-CIX offers its interconnection services in 60 locations in Europe, Africa, North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia. In 2025, DE-CIX is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The company and its first IX were established in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1995. Today, accessible from data centers in over 600 cities world-wide, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, and offers peering, cloud, and other interconnection services. DE-CIX Frankfurt is one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world, with a data volume of almost 45 Exabytes per year (as of 2024) and close to 1100 connected networks. Close to 250 colleagues from over 35 different nations form the foundation of the DE-CIX success story in Germany and around the world. Since the beginning of the commercial Internet, DE-CIX has had a decisive influence – in a range of leading global bodies, such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) – on co-defining guiding principles for the Internet of the present and the future. As the operator of critical IT infrastructure, DE-CIX bears a great responsibility for the seamless, fast, and secure data exchange between people, enterprises, and organizations at its locations around the globe.
Further information at www.de-cix.net
PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date