Service

Space-IX – terrestrial interconnection for satellite operators

De-CIX's Space-IX Program

Connect to a high-performance interconnection infrastructure on the ground. 

Access a thriving digital ecosystem of networks.

Improve latency and end-user experience.

Interconnect to improve latency

Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites are opening new frontiers in the delivery of the Internet to regions of the world that have so far missed out on connecting to the digital superhighway. But as a space network operator, you need to be able to connect to terrestrial digital ecosystems in order to deliver content to your end-users at as a low latency as possible. 

DE-CIX's Space-IX program supports the infrastructure needs of the whole range of space network operators, in particular LEO satellite operators, with terrestrial interconnection, enabling access to terrestrial content, cloud, and application networks. 

DE-CIX Internet Exchanges unite all types of networks – including satellite network operators of all kinds – to share data traffic, applications, and content. By connecting to DE-CIX, LEO satellite operators can become a further Internet service provider in the already thriving digital ecosystems, alongside terrestrial and mobile networks. 

Take advantage of the largest neutral interconnection ecosystem on the planet

Our numerous locations around the world are where all kinds of networks meet and they are a home to the largest neutral interconnection ecosystem on the planet. Our Internet Exchanges provide excellent opportunities for satellite network operators to connect to the networks they need so that their users can access the global Internet at the lowest possible latency.

How satellite operators can improve latency

The Internet is essentially a network of networks that interconnect to exchange data. In order for LEO network operator to be an Internet operator, your network needs to be connected to other networks.

One of the most common methods is to connect to an Internet Exchange like DE-CIX – a digital hub with a large ecosystem of networks, cloud providers, and digital infrastructure providers. Content and application providers often cache their most popular content in these hubs, so that it can be served to the surrounding region at low latency. By connecting into these locations, network operators can then tap into the content at the geographically closest location to the communities they are serving, vastly improving performance and user experience. It’s no different for satellite network operators.

Connect to an Internet Exchange

How can you achieve this? Your ground stations need to be built in the vicinity of the Internet Exchanges you want to connect to. The ground station should be connected to a data center that directly enables connection to the Internet Exchange of choice, or there needs to be high-speed fiber from this data center to an Internet Exchange-enabled data center close by.

The key here is to connect to a large and diverse hub with the networks you need, to keep the distances that data needs to travel as short as possible. This way your end-users are able to access the content they need at as low a latency as possible.

DE-CIX as a Service teaser

Set up your own Internet Exchange

If you are a data center operator housing a ground station or a government wanting to improve Internet access in remote areas, you can now set up your own Internet Exchange. DE-CIX can quickly and agilely set up such a local interconnection platform for you as a fully managed service – you bring in the local knowledge and infrastructure and we provide the hardware, technological know-how, customer service, and operate everything for you. Perfect conditions for you to build your own digital ecosystem. 

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