Chicago’s DE-CIX exchange has surged to become the city’s second-largest internet exchange, with its traffic volume nearly quadrupling in the past year. In August, it achieved a milestone by recording over 1 Tbps of peak traffic for the first time. Currently, it connects more than 85 networks, offering a total capacity exceeding 8 terabits. Accessible from 18 data centers across the Chicago metropolitan area, DE-CIX claims this is the most extensive reach of any local internet exchange.
Rapid Climb in North American Rankings
This growth has propelled DE-CIX Chicago up the North American rankings tracked by PeeringDB. From 58th place in 2023, it climbed to 29th by 2026, securing a spot in the continent’s top 30. Chicago has long been a key hub for network traffic and interconnection in the US Midwest, where scale and geographic reach are critical for exchange operators competing to attract network participants.
Internet exchanges enable networks to exchange traffic directly, bypassing third-party transit providers. DE-CIX Chicago serves a diverse range of clients, including content networks, cloud platforms, AI-focused providers, carriers, internet service providers, and enterprise networks. Its platform offers services such as peering, cloud connectivity, AI connectivity, and other interconnection solutions, with port sizes up to 400 GE.
Distributed Model Drives Expansion
The exchange credits its distributed model across Chicago and partnerships beyond central carrier hotels for its expansion. This approach has extended access to data centers previously underserved by metropolitan exchange infrastructure.
For networks outside Chicago, DE-CIX collaborates with transit, transport, and reseller partners, including PacketFabric, Capcon Networks, Shift Hosting, and South Front Networks. These partnerships aim to broaden access to the exchange for organizations across the Midwest. Despite being only six years old, DE-CIX Chicago has grown into a significant player in the city’s interconnection ecosystem, driven by its recent traffic surge.
DE-CIX positions itself as a neutral alternative for networks seeking additional traffic routes and redundancy across the metropolitan area. Its broader North American operations have also strengthened its presence in other major markets. According to PeeringDB rankings, DE-CIX Dallas now ranks 15th in North America, while DE-CIX New York holds the third position.
Ed d’Agostino, Vice President of DE-CIX North America, tied Chicago’s success to the growing infrastructure demand in large US metropolitan areas.
“Becoming the Number Two IX in the Chicago market and making it into the Top 30 in North America in just six years demonstrates how quickly DE-CIX Chicago has become an important part of the region’s digital infrastructure,” said Ed d’Agostino, Vice President of DE-CIX North America.
“The US market has demonstrated in multiple markets that every tier-1 metro benefits from a second large, neutral IX that can create greater path diversity, attract more networks, and support a competitive interconnection ecosystem,” he added.
Regional Strategy Extends Beyond City Limits
DE-CIX highlights its presence in 18 data centers as giving it broader coverage in the Chicago area compared to rival exchanges. This extensive footprint, combined with rising traffic and network connections, has raised the exchange to the upper tier of North American interconnection hubs.
The company also emphasizes its expansion beyond the city center as a key part of its regional strategy. “By working with under-served data centers in the metropolitan region and connectivity partners across multiple states, we’re extending the benefits of connectivity on the IX more broadly within Chicago, as well as beyond the city limits to networks throughout the Midwest,” said d’Agostino.
