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EG-IX: strengthening regional connectivity from Cairo

AMS-IX NEWS

Taha Hussain Marathi

Regional Sales Manager

06 October 2026

When Telecom Egypt and AMS-IX launched EG-IX in April 2022, we shared an ambition: strengthen interconnection in Egypt and support better connectivity across Africa and the Middle East. As Egypt’s first open access Internet Exchange, EG-IX created a place where networks could connect directly and exchange traffic in Cairo.

Four years later, that community has grown substantially. The figures through Q3 2026 show almost five times as many connected networks as at launch, alongside significant increases in ports, capacity and traffic. Behind those numbers is a growing opportunity to bring networks, services and Internet users closer together.

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“As EG-IX grows, so does its potential to support better connectivity across Egypt and the wider region.”

Building the community together

EG-IX brings together Telecom Egypt’s infrastructure and AMS-IX’s interconnection expertise. Hosted at Telecom Egypt’s Regional Data Hub in Smart Village, West Cairo, the Exchange uses our IX-as-a-Service solution to provide an open access platform for content, application and cloud providers, alongside telecom carriers.

The partnership provides the foundation, while the participating networks bring the Exchange to life. Each network adds its own reach, services and users, creating opportunities for new peering relationships and more direct traffic exchange.

Growth across the platform

By Q3 2026, EG-IX connected 19 networks, measured by ASNs, compared with 4 at launch in 2022. That is almost 5 times the starting number.

Active ports increased from 9 in 2023 to 37 in Q3 2026, more than quadrupling. Over the same period, active port capacity rose from 0.7 Tb/s to 3.2 Tb/s, expanding the platform’s capacity to accommodate traffic.

Traffic growth has been equally striking. Peak traffic reached 945 Gb/s by Q3 2026, compared with 338 Gb/s in 2025 and 89 Gb/s in 2023. The latest peak is almost three times the 2025 level and more than ten times the level recorded in 2023.

The total volume exchanged adds another perspective. In the first nine months of 2026, EG-IX handled 1.22 EB of traffic, already more than two and a half times the 480 PB exchanged during the whole of 2025.

Together, these figures show a community that is expanding and making greater use of the platform.

What local interconnection makes possible

An Internet Exchange gives networks a shared place to exchange traffic directly. For participating networks, this can reduce the need for longer routes, lower latency and help manage connectivity costs.

For Internet users, more efficient traffic exchange can support a better experience with everyday digital services, from accessing cloud applications to streaming content and making video calls. These are the practical benefits that local interconnection can help deliver.

As EG-IX attracts more networks, it creates more opportunities for those connections. Its growing traffic volumes show how much more data is being exchanged through the platform, underlining its increasing use within the connected community.

A meeting point for the wider region

EG-IX’s ambition has extended beyond Egypt from the outset. By providing a place for networks serving Africa and the Middle East to interconnect, the Exchange supports Cairo’s development as a regional connectivity hub.

International infrastructure brings connectivity into the region. An Internet Exchange complements that infrastructure by giving networks a place to meet and exchange traffic. Growing the community around EG-IX helps turn that opportunity into more direct connections between networks and the services their users need.

This makes continued participation central to the Exchange’s development. Every new network brings the potential for additional peering relationships, strengthening the value of the platform for the wider community.

Looking ahead

The progress through Q3 2026 gives EG-IX a strong foundation for its next chapter. Almost five times as many networks are connected as at launch, port capacity has expanded, and traffic has grown substantially.

Together with Telecom Egypt and the participating networks, our focus remains on developing that community and helping more networks exchange traffic efficiently in Cairo. As EG-IX grows, so does its potential to support better connectivity across Egypt and the wider region.