A new global data throughput record has been set by DE-CIX. On Apr. 8 at 15:10 Eastern (19:10 UTC), a total of 25Tbps of peering traffic was pumped through DE-CIX Internet Exchanges (IXs), worldwide. This threshold represents more than double the global peering traffic at DE-CIX since 2020, up 130 percent over five years.
25Tbps equates to the simultaneous streaming of nearly 14 million TikTok videos every second. If printed, the data involved would equate to a stack of A4 sheets 20X higher than Mount Everest.
2024 saw traffic peak at the operator’s IX in Dallas, where the region surpassed 1Tbps for the first time. Unusually, this global traffic peak did not coincide with a peak in a regional IX, but was instead the result of strong throughput across multiple regions: from Dallas and Madrid to Frankfurt and Istanbul.
“The peak last night is the result of higher-than-usual data traffic from the confluence of multiple events, including the live streaming of sport and software updates, alongside the usual consumption of digital content and services,” explained DE-CIX CTO, Thomas King. “This peak demonstrates the power of peering, the glue that binds together the different networks – including networks that supply video content, software downloads and mobile Internet – that make up the Internet.”
In 2024, the operator saw a total throughput of 68 exabytes – across 3,400 connected networks at its sites – marking a new record for global data traffic volume in the 12-month period.
