TE, Amsterdam to establish Egypt’s first internet exchange

Telecom Egypt has signed an agreement with the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) to establish Egypt’s first internet exchange point (EG-IX) in the Smart Village, enabling better online communication between Egypt, Africa and the Middle East, according to the Communications Ministry.

The EG-IX is expected to start operating once TE’s new data center is brought online in early 2021, and will increase connectivity between ISPs, content and cloud service providers and app developers.

What’s an IX? An internet exchange point (IX or IXP) is a physical hub through which internet providers and content delivery networks exchange internet traffic directly, without having to rely on third-party networks. Reduced costs, lower latency and higher bandwidth are key advantages.

Egypt’s new exchange will run using the Amsterdam exchange’s IX-as-a-Service (IXaaS), under which AMS-IX provides the infrastructure, software, firewalls and technical support.

The exchange will be housed in TE’s Tier III certified data center, which will be the largest in the country when it begins operations next year.

The center will be connected to TE’s 10 Mediterranean and Red Sea subsea landing stations, allowing it to send and receive data from more than 60 countries around the world.

The EG-IX, together with the data center, will strengthen Egypt’s position as a regional connectivity hub