Internet exchange operator DE-CIX reports that it handled more than 48 exabytes (EB) of data in 2022. The total, the company said, was a 25% increase over the 38 EB of data that was exchanged in 2021.
That’s the equivalent to the storage capacity of more than 370 million smartphones with a capacity of 128 GB each.
Internet Exchange Traffic Increase
DE-CIX said that the busiest day of 2022 was December 14, which was the night of the World Cup semifinal match between France and Morocco in Qatar. At approximately 20:28 CET, 132 terabytes of data passed through the company’s exchange in a minute. New York and Frankfurt IXs recorded record traffic at that point.
“The peak throughput for the World Cup semifinals shows how much all areas of life are becoming digitalized worldwide. Whether at work – with regular video conferences – or at play, e.g. when streaming sports events, digital services have become an indispensable part of our everyday lives,” Dr. Christoph Dietzel, Global Head of Products & Research at DE-CIX, said in a press release.
Traffic is not consistent, the company said. During the summer, exchanges in Frankfort, New York and Madrid experienced less video conferencing traffic. Traffic from gaming experienced rapid month-over-month increases at those exchanges in June, though aggregate gaming traffic was greatest during the fourth quarter of the year.
DE-CIX said that its exchange in Frankfurt, which the company says is the largest in Europe, has 34 EB of traffic annually, a peak speed of 14 terabits per second (Tbps) surpassed the “magic” 1 Tbps peak traffic mark.
The Dallas exchange almost doubled its traffic and finished at 625 Gbps, while the Dubai exchange almost reach 400 Gbps on November 22, the day of the World Cup match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia. New locations and partnerships were announced for the company’s home market of Leipzig and in Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Central and Southeast Europe). DE-CIX now serves more than 40 metro regions worldwide.