Internet exchange (IX) provider DE-CIX, one of the world’s largest IX providers, has opened its first two Internet exchanges in Mexico. It is already accepting orders to link Mexican and foreign networks to provide regional, low-latency connectivity. For Internet service providers (ISPs), content and carrier networks, cloud service providers (CSPs), and businesses of all kinds, it will provide a carrier neutral, secured, and high-performance interconnection platform for data centers.
The initial home of DE-CIX Mexico City and DE-CIX Queretaro will be the KIO data centers, which have three fully linked locations (KIO MEX2, MEX4, and MEX5) in Mexico City and one data center (KIO QRO1) in Queretaro. It is expected that other data centers will be added eventually.
“DE-CIX is committed to unleashing the potential of the digital economy in Mexico by providing better performance and user experience of content and applications, and affordable and high-quality Internet access for enterprises and individuals,” said Ivo Ivanov, CEO at DE-CIX. “The millions of users in Mexico deserve digital services of state-of-the-art quality. This requires the best infrastructure possible, interconnected in low latency and localizing content, clouds, and applications as close as possible to the end users, for both private and business purposes.”
“On top, Mexico currently still lacks a strong neutral Internet Exchange and harmonized interconnection ecosystem,” added Mr. Ivanov. “Data exchange for Mexico should take place in Mexico. For these reasons DE-CIX is ready to serve the growing demand for interconnection in Mexico with not only peering but also modern enterprise-grade interconnection services, such as cloud connectivity and direct access to cloud-based applications.”
According to DE-CIX, numerous local networks and international cloud service providers have already made explicit pledges to link to the new DE-CIX IXs. Over the next year, the company hopes to significantly expand the number of Internet Exchanges. This stage will allow the Mexican networks that are already linked to the DE-CIX interconnection ecosystem in the US to connect locally in Mexico City and Queretaro
This step would reduce network data routes and provide low latency connections for the Mexican networks. The new IXs should quickly reach network density based on DE-CIX’s experience in other parts of the globe.
Access to North American cloud zones would further enrich the expanding local ecosystem of cloud service providers in Mexico, with AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, and Google, among others, already present or planning to enter the market. This will allow enterprise networks to connect to clouds directly through the DE-CIX Cloud Exchange.
About the Mexican Market
Mexico has one of the biggest gaming marketplaces in Latin America, with a hundred million users, a thriving telecommunications sector, and a developing digital economy. The country is becoming more and more of a hub for data centers, according to DE-CIX.
Mexico has the third-largest number of networks in Latin America with around 600, added DE-CIX. It is anticipated that revenues from data centers would amount to US$3.4 billion in 2023, while expenditures in new data centers will amount to US$1.15 billion by 2028.
Mexico would be well-positioned to benefit from the network density and diversity of its northern neighbor, enabling content, applications, and clouds to be localized to serve the growing needs for low-latency connectivity.
Mexico is strategically located along the submarine cable routes between North and South America and enjoys terrestrial connectivity to the US. The usual site for data centers in Mexico is Mexico City, which has the greatest GDP per state. Meanwhile, Queretaro would now be emerging as a new hub for cloud computing and data centers.
