Frankfurt (Germany), 27 August 2025. DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, today announces implementation as a Google Gold Verified Peering Provider (VPP), one of the first Internet Exchange operators globally to achieve the Gold Status. The Google VPP Program identifies and endorses ISPs and IXs that provide diverse and highly available connectivity to Google’s global network. For Google customers, whether a small business, a large enterprise, or somewhere in between, choosing a VPP helps to ensure that their connection to Google is as available as possible.
To enable other networks to continue peering with Google, DE-CIX – as a VPP – is making Google prefixes consumable at its IXs through its peering service. The service is already live at the DE-CIX locations in the US, India, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkiye, and the Nordic region, and the operator is currently rolling out the service to its other IX locations globally.
DE-CIX customers currently maintain thousands of peering sessions with Google globally, many across multiple DE-CIX locations. Peering with Google via DE-CIX ensures seamless, high-capacity access to all Google’s services, reducing latency and bypassing congestion in the public Internet. The service is being rolled-out location by location where both DE-CIX and Google have a point of presence and will be available to all connected customers in those locations.
Enterprise-grade connectivity to support wholesale ISPs and enterprise customers
Smaller ISPs and network operators that are unable to fulfil Google’s more stringent peering requirements can thus depend on DE-CIX’s expertise and resources to ensure ongoing connectivity to Google services, resources, and workloads in Google Cloud. Networks can use DE-CIX’s simplified Layer-3 connectivity to ensure uninterrupted access to Google services. DE-CIX’s offer of enterprise-grade connectivity to Google means that wholesale networks can use DE-CIX’s VPP status to provide continued access to Google’s services for their customers. It also means that enterprises that access Google Workspace or consume SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) or other Internet-facing applications hosted on Google Cloud can gain direct access to reliable and dedicated connectivity to support their business operations through the IX operator.
“We are delighted to have been able to work with Google on the implementation of the VPP solution for IXs, and to be one of the first IX providers globally to achieve Gold status as a Google VPP,” comments Dr. Thomas King, CTO of DE-CIX. “At DE-CIX, we are always seeking ways to simplify interconnection services for our customers and push the evolution of peering for the benefit of all network operators. As network technologies evolve and network operators adapt their policies, it is essential for companies like DE-CIX to find solutions to keep the world fully interconnected.”
Access to Google only possible through Verified Peering Providers
Many Google customers today are not prepared to manage complex direct peering connections, or don’t meet the requirements to do so. As a result, Google only peers with networks and IXs that meet its requirements for expertise, resources, and redundant connectivity. To enable continued peering with Google, certain ISPs and IXs have been granted the status of a VPP. VPPs manage direct peering with Google over dedicated private connectivity with redundancy requirements for each enrolled provider.
Google customers who choose to connect through a VPP to reach Google leverage infrastructure that delivers highly-reliable services including Google Search, Google Ads, YouTube, and more. Any Google service reachable over the Internet can be consumed through a Verified Peering Provider. In the case of Internet Exchanges, a VPP-certified IX like DE-CIX can integrate Google into their service provision, enabling the IX’s network to operate as the peering partner for its connected networks. When Google customers connect to a VPP to reach Google, they are choosing a provider that has verified diverse connectivity.
30 years of DE-CIX: Digital infrastructure “Made in Germany” for the whole world
DE-CIX is the world’s leading Internet Exchange operator and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2025. The company’s first IX began operations in 1995 in Frankfurt, Germany. Today, DE-CIX offers its peering, cloud connectivity, and other enterprise-grade interconnection services in 60 locations in Europe, Africa, North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia. DE-CIX is accessible from data centers in over 600 cities worldwide and interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISP), content providers, and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries. DE-CIX Frankfurt, with a data volume of close to 45 exabytes per year (as of 2024) and nearly 1,100 connected networks, is one of the largest Internet Exchanges in the world.