18% jump in Internet traffic heralds return to normal for AMS-IX

Internet exchange AMS-IX reported a traffic volume of 26.85 exabytes in 2021, up 18% year-over-year. While the precentage is impressive, it represents only a little more than half that of the COVID-driven 35% jump the company reported in 2020. This difference suggests that growth may be subsiding to its pre-pandemic levels, AMS-IX theorizes. (Rival DEC-IX posted a similar percentage in 2021; see “DE-CIX internet exchange data traffic exceeds 38 exabytes in 2021.”)

AMS-IX connects more than 880 networks to its hub, enabling networks to cost-effectively exchange large volumes of Internet data. The traffic patterns on the exchange give a good indication of Internet usage patterns, not just in the user base but in the industry at large, and they suggest that conditions may be normalizing. The 18% growth for 2021 is comparable to the 17% growth year-over-year reported in 2019, for example. Still, the increase is nothing to sneeze at – in November, AMS-IX reached a new peak of 10 Tbps in Amsterdam.

Unpacking the numbers, the growth in 2021 seems to come mainly from emerging and high-growth internet services such as cloud storage, online gaming, and streaming services rather than the changing work and educational dynamics that drove the pandemic data surge. The number of connected networks remained the same for both years.

The traffic patterns on the Global Roaming Exchange also showed that the traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels. The Global Roaming Exchange (GRX) is a platform that enables the exchange of global roaming data between networks. Global roaming data is generated by users who want to use mobile Internet in a foreign country. In 2020, and at the start of 2021, traffic on the GRX was very low due to all the travel restrictions. During 2021, however, the traffic went up by 80% and even reached a peak of 205.9 Gbps in August.

The influence of the pandemic was also less felt at the other Internet Exchanges that AMS-IX manages. The exchanges in Manama (436 Gbps), Mumbai (92 Gbps) and Hong Kong (84 Gbps) reached new traffic peaks in 2021. The traffic increase in Manama was most significant, up from the 2020 peak of 208 Gbps.

“The growth of internet traffic in 2021 comes from the ongoing digitalization of society,” said AMS-IX CEO Peter van Burgel. People continue to click, swipe, app, game, and stream, driving the internet to continue to grow with 20% on a yearly basis. We continue to invest in optimizing the platform to facilitate this traffic growth.”

For related articles, visit the Data Center Topic Center.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.

To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.