DE-CIX, a provider of Internet exchange (IX) services operating several carrier-neutral and independent Internet exchanges internationally, including DE-CIX Frankfurt, Germany; DE-CIX New York, USA; and UAE-IX in Dubai, UAE, has announced that the company will open a new Internet exchange in the Interxion data center in Marseille, France.
Marseille is one of the key European landing stations for a large number of international subsea cables and global Internet transit pathways. Importantly, Marseille is a critical gateway directly on the Mediterranean Sea for the communications infrastructure that transports African and Middle East traffic to Europe. The city also offers an existing framework inside the European Union that delivers a known regulatory and legal environment for business.
Currently, primary Internet content sources for the African region are located in Europe, the United States and Asia. While there are many initiatives underway to change this trend, they will take time to develop. The immediate need would be to address rapidly growing volumes of Internet traffic in the region and to bring content closer to the end user for a better Internet experience.
“In Marseille, we are creating a new neutral Internet hub to improve the interconnection of African eyeball networks to regional and global content players,” said Harald A. Summa, DE-CIX President. “Marseille offers strong legal and regulatory infrastructure for this new exchange, an environment we know well and have successfully done business in for a long time. DE-CIX has extensive international experience building global hubs. At Interxion Marseille, we are developing an ideal framework that brings content closer to key transport pathways and the end user.”
Interxion has operated its data center in Marseille since 2014, when it acquired the facility from SFR. There are more than 8 subsea cables and 100 unique carriers that currently operate in or transport through Marseille.
With 3.8+ Terabits per second of peak traffic, DE-CIX Frankfurt is one of the world’s leading Internet exchanges. Founded in 1995, DE-CIX has established an environment for the bilateral settlement-free exchange of Internet traffic, called peering. The company is serving 600+ carriers, ISPs and content networks from 60+ countries including all leading international players.
