The Internet continues to shatter data traffic records and at increasingly shorter intervals: just 25 days after the latest milestones, traffic at DE-CIX Internet exchange points has once again reached all-time highs. On Tuesday night, 21.47 terabits per second (Tbit/s) were transmitted for the first time via DE-CIX Frankfurt. At the same time, traffic on the DE-CIX global exchange point network set a new record of 32.10 Tbit/s. Both peaks were recorded at 9:20 p.m. (Central European Summer Time), just 20 minutes after the start of several UEFA Champions League matches.
The importance of digital infrastructures
Internet traffic has maintained constant growth over the years; However, the pace of this evolution has accelerated significantly: on September 18, DE-CIX Frankfurt surpassed the 20 terabit mark for the first time by reaching 20.02 Tbit/s, at the same time that global traffic surpassed the 30 Tbit/s threshold. In less than four weeks, measured traffic peaks increased by around 7% both in Frankfurt and globally. These new records underline the growing importance of high-performance digital infrastructures in an increasingly interconnected world.
“Just three and a half weeks ago we surpassed the barrier of 20 terabits per second for the first time in Frankfurt. Now we are already close to 21.5 terabits, and on a global scale we exceed 32 terabits. This dynamism is extraordinary and demonstrates the scale that digital traffic has reached,” said Ivo Ivanov, CEO of DE-CIX. “Live sporting events make this evolution especially visible when millions of people simultaneously access digital content. Behind this lies a structural trend: streaming, cloud services, online gaming and, increasingly, artificial intelligence is completely transforming the demands placed on our networks. Direct, resilient and high-performance connections are increasingly critical for the digital economy.”
Soccer causes record Internet traffic
The new maximum records coincided with the playing of numerous UEFA Champions League matches. As fans followed the matches via streaming platforms, data exchange at DE-CIX Frankfurt and at DE-CIX nodes around the world reached all-time highs. Large live events substantially increase the demand for concurrent access to digital content and, consequently, the load on the underlying network infrastructure.
In 2025, nearly 48 exabytes of data will be exchanged at DE-CIX Frankfurt, a node where almost 1,100 interconnected networks converge.
The new peak of 21.47 Tbit/s recorded in Frankfurt is equivalent to the simultaneous playback of around 12 million TikTok videos. If the volume of data transmitted in a single second were printed on paper, the resulting tower would be about 17 times the height of Mount Everest.
High-performance interconnection: pillar of the digital future
DE-CIX Frankfurt is positioned as one of the largest neutral Internet exchange points in the world and acts as a data hub for Europe. Through the direct exchange of traffic between telecommunications operators, cloud service providers, content platforms and companies, data reaches its destination through the most direct routes possible. This model reduces latency, strengthens resilience and helps maintain the availability of digital services, even during peaks of extreme demand.
Since the beginning of 2020, peak traffic at DE-CIX Frankfurt has increased by more than 160%. Currently, DE-CIX manages more than 60 Internet, Cloud and AI exchange points in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Its global interconnection ecosystem links more than 4,600 networks in more than 100 countries. Throughout 2025, nearly 48 exabytes of data were exchanged at DE-CIX Frankfurt, a node where almost 1,100 interconnected networks currently converge.
