ISPs Hook Up to Dubai Internet Exchange

FRANKFURT -- UAE-IX, the Internet exchange point in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), makes a phenomenal start: A mere eight weeks after the system went operational, more than ten Internet service providers (ISPs) are connected to the UAE-IX. The UAE-IX (www.uae-ix.net) is a carrier-neutral platform for the exchange of Internet traffic, and is managed by DE-CIX Management GmbH, one of the world’s largest operators of Internet exchange points, based in Frankfurt, Germany. The UAE-IX went into operation on October 1, 2012 and already has more than ten customers, including content delivery networks (CDN), carriers and ISPs who bring the Internet into people’s homes. The list of the UAE-IX customers includes already a great variety of global and regional operating networks from the UAE, Kuwait, India, Turkey, Europe, Canada and the United States.

Akamai, a leading provider of cloud platform and CDN services, is one of the first networks which has been connected to UAE-IX. “The connection to the UAE-IX is a critical part of Akamai’s peering strategy in the Middle East” says Christian Kaufmann, Director Network Architecture at Akamai. “It provides us with a more direct access to local providers in the region while lowering the latency and therefore ensuring higher-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere in the Middle East.”

DE-CIX Management GmbH