In 2015, DE-CIX Istanbul was launched with a bold vision: to support Türkiye’s transformation into a key player in the global digital ecosystem. A decade later, that vision has become reality. As DE-CIX Istanbul celebrates its 10th anniversary, the city’s digital infrastructure is bridging data traffic between Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. A newly published independent study by the DStream Group explores this success story: “Istanbul: A Strategic Digital Hub At the Crossroads of Continents” highlights the city’s evolution from digital fragmentation to global relevance – and looks ahead to 2030 and beyond.
Istanbul has always been a cultural and commercial crossroads due to its unique geographical location. Now, it’s becoming a digital one. Over the past ten years, Türkiye has made significant strides in building out its digital infrastructure, with Istanbul leading the charge. As a consequence, the city’s Internet Exchange market is thriving. This development is fueled by increasing demand for cloud services, digital transformation, and a digital society which spends more and more time online to work or consume content.
A new route for global connectivity
The study’s authors forecast that by 2030, Istanbul’s interconnection market will exceed 150 interconnected networks and handle multi-terabit-per-second traffic. This growth is driven not only by domestic demand but also by Türkiye’s strategic position in global data flows. Türkiye’s infrastructure mix offers a compelling alternative to only using traditional submarine cable routes connecting the Middle East to Europe. With major submarine cable systems landing in Türkiye and a robust nationwide fiber network, the country connects directly to many of its neighbors. This positions Türkiye as a vital segment in both East-West and North-South data corridors. Land-based routes through Türkiye provide additional redundancy and resilience – key requirements for modern network compliance. In addition, cities like Ankara, Izmir, and Van are emerging as strategic infrastructure hubs, contributing to a more distributed and robust national topology.
DE-CIX Istanbul: At the heart of the transformation
At the center of this digital evolution is DE-CIX Istanbul, Türkiye’s first and largest neutral Internet Exchange. Since its founding in 2015, DE-CIX Istanbul has been a deciding factor in shaping the country’s interconnection landscape. Today, it enables low-latency data exchange for more than 60 networks and hosts 93% of all international networks peering in Istanbul – across both sides of the Bosphorus. Low latency is key for unlocking the full potential of future technologies – especially in areas like AI. DE-CIX provides the robust, distributed infrastructure that enables networks, clouds, and businesses to connect directly and reliably.
With over ten colocation sites across the metro area, DE-CIX Istanbul fosters geographic redundancy and resilience. The region’s strategic importance has drawn major international players and spurred the creation of alternative terrestrial data corridors, helping to lessen reliance on traditional European interconnection hubs. This momentum has also reached the cloud infrastructure space. A key milestone was recently achieved with the launch of the first AWS cloud onramp at the DE-CIX facility in Istanbul – marking a pivotal step forward in Türkiye’s cloud connectivity evolution.
A year of milestones
2025 has marked a significant turning point for DE-CIX Istanbul. In August, the exchange exceeded 500 Gigabits per second (Gbit/s) in data throughput for the first time. By September, peak traffic had climbed to over 533 Gbit/s – representing a remarkable 42% increase since the start of the year.
This surge highlights Türkiye’s evolving role in the digital ecosystem, shifting from a transit point to a key destination for digital infrastructure and investment. The growing momentum is closely tied to the country’s rapid adoption of artificial intelligence technologies. A recent survey of Turkish tech executives found that nearly half view AI as a strategic priority for future growth. This shift is expected to drive further demand for high-performance, low-latency interconnection services across the region.
Looking ahead: The next decade of connectivity
Looking ahead to 2030, Istanbul is set to take on an increasingly prominent role in the global digital ecosystem. The study’s strategic recommendations emphasize the importance of attracting hyperscale cloud providers, expanding CDN deployments, and significantly increasing the number of peered networks and CDN nodes across the country. Regulatory changes, the liberalization of digital infrastructure, and stronger collaboration between the public and private sectors offer additional opportunities for faster growth. These efforts are essential to unlocking Türkiye’s full digital potential and reinforcing its position as a central hub for regional data exchange. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and satellite-based Internet are expected to reshape the connectivity landscape over the next decade, with Türkiye well-positioned to play a leading role in this transformation.
Celebrating 10 Years – Building the future
As DE-CIX Istanbul marks its tenth anniversary, it’s not just a celebration of the past – it’s a launchpad for the future. From its beginnings as a pioneering Internet Exchange to its current role as a regional powerhouse, DE-CIX Istanbul exemplifies the transformative power of neutral interconnection. The next decade promises even greater innovation, investment, and impact. With Istanbul at the center, Türkiye is ready to shape the future of global connectivity.