Frankfurt (Germany) and Dubai (UAE), 17 June 2025. DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, and partner datamena, du’s carrier neutral data centre and connectivity platform based in the UAE and serving the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, today announced the upgrade of the UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX to offer 400 GE access, fortifying its lead as the largest IX in the Middle East. In addition, connected customer capacity on the exchange has soared over the last year, growing two terabits, or 30%, in just twelve months.
The UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX is the largest Internet Exchange in the Middle East, based not only on connected networks, but also on peak traffic, and now as the only IX in the region to offer 400 GE access. Established in 2012 and operated by DE-CIX on behalf of partner datamena, the IX today boasts over 6 terabits of connected capacity and connects close to 110 Internet service providers, carriers, cloud, content, and application providers, and global enterprises. Not only is the IX the leading peering exchange in the region, but it also provides enterprise-grade interconnection services, such as a Cloud Exchange, cloud routing, and application connectivity like the Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS).
“The UAE-IX today stands as a global Internet hub, bringing together the network operators, content, applications, and cloud services to serve the entire GCC region with resilient and low latency connectivity,” says Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “This upgrade further reinforces the importance of the UAE-IX, now ready to serve the rising demand for everything digital. The excellent collaboration with our partner datamena has enabled the UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX to shine as the most important aggregation point for network interconnection in the Middle East. I look forward to a bright future working together for the next decade of digital development.”
Karim Benkirane, Chief Commercial Officer, du said: “We are proud to partner with DE-CIX in leading digital growth in the Middle East with the upgrade of the UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX to 400 GE access. It is our vision to foster a seamlessly interconnected landscape where businesses and consumers alike can benefit from unparalleled internet exchange capabilities, heightened performance, and robust security. This milestone aligns with our commitment to maintaining the UAE-IX as a pioneer in interconnection and marks a transformative leap for regional digital ecosystems.”
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 Turkiye. DE-CIX operates the four leading IXs across the region. The UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX in Dubai is operated under the DE-CIX as a Service (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.
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About DE-CIX
DE-CIX, pronounced DEE-KICKS [dˈi:-kˈɪks], is the world’s leading operator of Internet Exchanges (IXs). Founded in 1995, the company is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025. DE-CIX offers its interconnection services in 60 locations in Europe, Africa, North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia. 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 over 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
About datamena
datamena is a carrier neutral data centre and leading digital hub serving the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, owned and operated by du, the leading telecom and digital services provider. Carriers, hyperscalers, cloud and content providers and enterprises choose datamena because it provides a growing ecosystem of partners that enables them to meet, connect and do business to accelerate growth in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
datamena provides customer access to critical digital infrastructure and partners within a simple and seamless ecosystem to allow them to benefit from global cloud and content hubs by providing a seamless and high-performance data centre, connectivity and interconnectivity solutions dedicated to enabling local and global digital transformation and we’re only just getting started. The simple, secure and open ecosystem has been awarded ‘Best Internet Exchange Innovation’ at the 15th edition of the prestigious Global Carrier Awards 2019, which took place in London, United Kingdom.
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