Telecom Egypt has announced that the Egypt Internet Exchange (EG-IX), touted as the country’s first open access internet exchange, is now live and available to customers. The exchange point is expected to strength Egypt’s position as an international connectivity hub, further highlighting the potential of the growing digital sector in the region.

EG-IX is based on the IX-as-a-Service provider (IXaaS) solution offered by AMS-IX and will act as an open internet exchange platform for large content delivery network, application and cloud providers and telecommunication carriers.

The internet exchange will support Telecom Egypt in its effort to improve the quality of internet service provision.

EG-IX is hosted inside Egypt’s certified tier III datacentre located in a Smart Village in West Cairo called Regional Data Hub (RDH).

RDH features is connected with advanced fully meshed network securing the access to 14 submarine cable systems, with plans underway to increase that number to 18 cable systems by 2025.

Adel Hamed, MD and CEO of Telecom Egypt said, “We are pleased to announce that the EG-IX, which is hosted within the RDH is going live now in partnership with AMS-IX. The launch of EG-IX platform will support Egypt’s digital transformation plans. This process will not only enhance the country’s internet e-ecosystem but also support the ongoing regional efforts to establish a regional digital ecosystem that aggregates internet traffic from Africa to the Middle East.”

Peter van Burgel, AMS-IX CEO said, “The launch of EG-IX is a great milestone for AMS-IX, Telecom Egypt and the internet community. This new exchange will enable networks from all over the world to directly connect and exchange traffic, which will lower the cost of peering, reducing latency and enhance the quality of internet for countless end users.”