Press Release
Internet traffic over AMS-IX, the world’s leading interconnection platform, broke through the 7 Terabits per second (Tbps) barrier on December 18 around 9PM. This new record underlines the importance of the Amsterdam region as an international hub for internet traffic.
AMS-IX CEO Peter van Burgel comments: “This traffic peak is a sign of the ever-growing use of digital services and devices in society in general and the importance of AMS-IX as a vital part of the digital gateway to Europe. It is a great way to end the year where we celebrated our 25 year anniversary.”
The new peak is a result of the growth of AMS-IX. The number of connected parties has risen to over 875 in 2019 and many networks have upgraded their port capacity, allowing for more traffic to be exchanged. As a result, the peak traffic on the AMS-IX grew 20% in 2019 from 5.86 Tb/s to 7.025 Tb/s. Moreover, there is a seasonal factor that comes into play. Data traffic at AMS-IX comes in waves and reflects the daily rhythm of internet usage, beginning early in the morning and reaching a peak around 9 PM in the evening. During winter months, people tend to make more use of video streaming, games and other internet services.
7 Terabits per second accounts for astronomical amounts of data traffic. It corresponds to the simultaneous transmission of up to 280.000 videos in 4k HD quality or a data volume of approximately 175 million A4 pages of text.
