Worldwide turnover of all company parts grows by 12 percent
Share of international business jumps by 27 percent
Frankfurt maintains lead in international comparison
Frankfurt am Main (Germany), 18 June 2019. The Internet Exchange operator DE-CIX was able to hold its ground in the fierce global competitive environment in the 2018 financial year. In the consolidated annual financial statement for 2018, the global turnover of all company parts grew by 12 percent in comparison to the previous year to close to 35.7 million Euro. Revenues from international activities jumped in comparison to 2017 by more than 27 percent and represented more than 11 percent of total turnover in 2018. The EBIT for 2018 amounted to 2.2 million Euro and the EBITDA 4.2 million Euro. In the 2018 financial year, no use was made of borrowed capital.
The DE-CIX Internet Exchanges connected almost 1,600 customers worldwide at the end of 2018, close to 30 up on the previous year. The connected customer capacity also grew by over 35 percent in comparison with 2017 to more than 45 Terabits (Tbit). Customer demand for increased bandwidth is reflected in another figure: The total number of 100-Gigabit Ethernet (GE) Ports across all DE-CIX locations now stands at more than 300, a rise of 45 percent. The largest Internet Exchange in the world, DE-CIX Frankfurt, was able to maintain its leading position in 2018, with data throughput of 6.7 Terabits per second (Tbit/s) at peak times.
“Our growth in 2018 is based on the strong growth in demand for capacity on the one hand, and the establishment of new locations, partnerships, and regional access points on the other. In the home market of Germany, DE-CIX followed the strategy of getting “Closer to the Edge” and broadened the coverage of data centers with the help of partners. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, this is an uncomplicated way to gain access to the many networks that are connected to the DE-CIX platforms around the world. What’s more, DE-CIX Services – like connecting to the cloud or interconnecting with different international DE-CIX locations – is being booked increasingly frequently,” says Harald A. Summa, CEO of DE-CIX, commenting on the 2018 growth figures.
“To increase the relevance of DE-CIX for our customers with a global offer, geographical expansion is also a priority at the international level. As a result, in 2017 we established a joint venture in one of the most important markets in the world – namely, India – and we will expand this cooperation with three new locations in in Chennai, Kolkata, and Delhi. In the course of this financial year, new DE-CIX Internet Exchanges will be added globally. We are currently taking a very close look at the Asian market,” says Ivo Ivanov, who is responsible for the international business of DE-CIX.
“DE-CIX around the globe”: Strong growth from core market Germany through to the Indian sub-continent
DE-CIX in Germany: Frankfurt maintaining top-ranking global position, regional locations experience enormous growth
DE-CIX Frankfurt, the largest Internet Exchange in the world according to data throughput, continued to grow unabated in 2018. Customer growth was close to 10 percent higher than the previous year and the strong demand for 100-GE Ports – an increase of 40 percent – highlights the growing demand for bandwidth. This had a strong impact on connected capacity, which rose by over 30 percent to 36.50 Terabits. Frankfurt is also still the world-record holder for peak traffic: At the end of 2018, the world record stood at 6.7 Tbit/s. In total, the German regional exchanges in Hamburg, Dusseldorf und Munich experienced a consolidated growth of over 37 percent in customer numbers and over 40 percent in connected capacity.
Important milestones in North America – DE-CIX New York breaks the sound barrier
DE-CIX North America, with its two locations in New York and Dallas, is the fastest growing carrier and data center-neutral Internet Exchange operator in North America.
There were more than 200 connected networks in New York at the end of 2018. This put DE-CIX New York in the number-one position as the largest carrier and data center-neutral Internet Exchange in the region. The customer numbers grew by 22 percent and orders of 100-GE Ports rose by 70 percent. DE-CIX Dallas also achieved significant growth in 2018, with the number of customers growing by nearly 26 percent to over 50 connected networks.
DE-CIX Southern Europe becoming more strongly established – creating new digital hubs
The customer base at the locations in Madrid, Marseille, and Palermo grew by more than 22 percent, and DE-CIX Marseille stands out with a growth of 41 percent in connected networks (ASNs). DE-CIX Madrid experienced another exciting and successful year, with more than 135 customers connected by the end of 2018, a growth of 26 percent in comparison to 2017. A majority of customers are demanding greater bandwidth, meaning orders of 10GE ports rose strongly in 2018 (+33%) and the number of 100GE ports connected to the platform tripled. As a result, the connected capacity also grew by 70 percent to over 1,500 Gbit by the end of the year.
DE-CIX also expanded its presence on the strategically important Iberian Peninsula with an Internet Exchange in Lisbon.
Interconnecting two continents – DE-CIX Istanbul
With its distributed infrastructure, DE-CIX Istanbul is the world’s only Internet Exchange to serve two continents – Europe and Asia – in one country. It gives access to a variety of networks via various data centers across Turkey, including in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa and İzmir, and serves leading global and regional networks. In 2018, DE-CIX Istanbul saw strong growth of close to 30 percent in 10 GE ports. This is due to existing customers – such as national and international operators and content delivery networks – upgrading their existing access to the IX. In particular, there was increased interest from international networks. As a result, the connected capacity in 2018 also rose by 27 percent, finishing at 327 Gbits. On top of this, peak traffic almost doubled from 45 Gbit/s to 90 Gbit/s. DE-CIX Istanbul was also the first entity within the DE-CIX Group to sell the DE-CIX DirectCLOUD services outside of Germany.
DE-CIX in the Middle East: Solid growth at UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX
During 2017, UAE-IX powered by DE-CIX was upgraded to the powerful DE-CIX Apollon technology platform and made 100GE-ready. One milestone in 2018 was the connection of the first leading global content provider with 100GE to UAE-IX. There was also growth of more than 19 percent in new customers and the total connected capacity rose by 29 percent to more than 550 Gbits in 2018. Added to this, peak traffic grew continuously over the year and crossed the 100 Gbit/s mark, an increase of more than 31 percent in comparison to 2017.
Mumbai IX powered by DE-CIX now well-established
Added to the DE-CIX family as a joint venture in late 2017, Mumbai IX made significant progress in 2018. It has now become the largest Internet Exchange in the most important Internet Gateway for the Indian sub-continent. A total of 129 customers were using DE-CIX services by the end of 2018, a growth rate of close to 170 percent in comparison to 2017. In addition, the total connected customer capacity rose by 106 percent to more than 650 Gbits.
MSK-IX powered by DE-CIX – DE-CIX now offers peering in Russia
In late 2018, DE-CIX and Russia’s leading Internet Exchange Company, MSK-IX, established a strategic partnership. Initially, this partnership has the objective of offering DE-CIX customers in Frankfurt the opportunity to peer directly at MSK-IX. For this purpose, the two Internet Exchanges are interconnected and offer the products of each operator in the respective locations, Moscow and Frankfurt. As a result, customers in Frankfurt have access to a ‘One-Stop Shop’ for the complete service portfolio in Russia.
The complete DE-CIX Annual Report 2018 can be found (in English) here.
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About DE-CIX
DE-CIX – the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator – provides premium interconnection services and runs a range of carrier and data center-neutral IXs globally. Founded in 1995, DE-CIX serves 1500+ carriers, ISPs and content networks from 100+ countries, including all leading international players in various metro markets in Europe, the Middle East, India and North America. With 6.8+ Terabits per second of peak traffic, DE-CIX Frankfurt is the world’s leading Internet Exchange. For more information, please visit www.de-cix.net.
Media contact
Carsten Titt
Head of Global Public Relations at DE-CIX
+49 (0)69 1730902 130