• New York’s largest Internet Exchange to receive 400GE backbone upgrade and 800GE support as network ecosystem grows, resulting in greater router flexibility and operational resilience.
• Nokia optical solution offers improved flexibility, faster incident response times, and seamless customer experience with no service interruptions.

 Nokia and DE-CIX, the world’s leading Internet Exchange (IX) operator, today announced the upgrade of the backbone network for DE-CIX New York, the largest IX in NY and in the US Northeast region. The DE-CIX backbone will be upgraded to 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) using Nokia optical technology and redesigned in a ring topology, redundantly interconnecting the 10 data center facilities where DE-CIX infrastructure is housed and enhancing the resiliency of the platform for all participants.

The Nokia optical solution also enables 800GE support for anticipated further growth of the IX and employs Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) technology to ensure much greater routing flexibility, faster reaction times in the case of incidents, and a seamless customer experience without any service interruptions.

Dr. Thomas King, CTO of DE-CIX, said: “When we began planning the upgrade of our New York backbone, we wanted to simplify our network, while also increasing the resilience of the platform. We took a detailed look at the options in the market, and Nokia was the best choice for us. We have worked with Nokia globally for more than 10 years now, and the capacity, reliability, and innovative strength of their hardware has always impressed us.”

Within a dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) system, the ROADM technology in Nokia’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) makes it possible to automatically reroute waves at the optical layer in any direction around the backbone. This means that incidents at any location in the network can be mitigated more rapidly and less capacity is required at the IP layer to guarantee the same level of resilience.

James Watt, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Nokia’s Optical business, said: “In today’s connected world, staying resilient and ready to scale is a must. This upgrade to DE-CIX New York’s backbone isn’t just about supporting the largest Internet Exchange in the Northeast — it’s about shaping the future of connectivity in one of the world’s biggest markets. With Nokia’s cutting-edge optical tech, we’re ensuring networks are flexible, reliable, and ready to handle whatever comes next. Together with DE-CIX, we’re building the foundation for a limitless digital future.”

Ed d’Agostino, Vice President DE-CIX North America, said: “This upgrade, powered by Nokia’s optical technology, allows us to future-proof our platform to best serve the New York market and start 2025 on track for further growth. With the number of data centers that we integrate, it is imperative that we have a state-of-the-art transport network with scalable capacity. DE-CIX New York is the largest IX in New York and the youngest Internet Exchange in the Top 5 largest IXs in the US. The platform covers an area spanning Long Island to the East and Piscataway and Edison to the South and West. It connects over 265 networks from across the city, with an infrastructure that spans over 40 data centers served.

DE-CIX New York is connected to all other DE-CIX locations in North America, enabling remote peering and access to a vibrant ecosystem of networks not present in other local exchanges. The DE-CIX Internet and Cloud Exchanges in New York, Dallas, Chicago, Richmond, Houston, and Phoenix, and the dedicated Cloud Exchange in Seattle, form the largest carrier and data center neutral interconnection ecosystem in North America.

Further, DE-CIX New York is directly connected to DE-CIX’s locations in Europe – e.g. DE-CIX Frankfurt, the largest IX in Europe – and beyond. Globally in 2025, the 30^th year since the operator’s establishment, DE-CIX offers its interconnection services in close to 60 locations across Europe, Africa, North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia. Accessible from data centers in over 600 cities world-wide, DE-CIX interconnects thousands of network operators (carriers), Internet service providers (ISPs), content providers and enterprise networks from more than 100 countries, and offers peering, cloud, and other interconnection services.

Nokia, DE-CIX and 650 Group to host webinar on 5 March 2025, 12PM EST

Nokia will host a webinar together with DE-CIX and 650 Group on the topic of “Rewiring the Future: Conversations on Networking for an AI-Driven World”. Interested parties can join Rodney Dellinger, CTO of Webscale, Nokia, Dr Thomas King, CTO of DE-CIX, and Alan Weckel, co-founder and principal analyst of 650 Group, as they discuss what’s needed for the success of GenAI and how the network needs to evolve to deliver these services to the end users. Further information can be found here.