It’s no secret that the Internet is growing. There were 2.4 billion global Internet users in 2012, and the number of Internet users continues to grow each year.
In the Middle East, Internet traffic volumes grew a substantial 98% between 2007-2011. Yet only 3% of IP traffic in the Middle East is generated and delivered within the region. In a part of the world with more than 350 million people, traffic continues to be primarily driven inter-regionally. Trends show IP traffic moving via the Middle East to Europe, Asia and Africa, which makes the Middle East a good example of a region ripe for strong Internet Exchanges.
Internet Exchanges provide a regional peering location to allow providers to deliver 
content locally at faster rates with lower latency and delay. A local Internet exchange in any region delivers substantial cost savings for network operators. Delivering content locally also increases network infrastructure resiliency and security, with a reduced risk of outages.
To keep content and traffic local, the first neutral Internet Exchange Point in the Middle East, UAE-IX, was established in October 2012. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates – are situated at a crossroads of continents where IP demand is expected to grow by 69% CAGR by 2016. The traffic growth trend is “up and to the right” – a true growth “hockey-stick” for the foreseeable future.
The GCC region is well situated to deliver Internet Exchanges that provide peering diversity to Europe and Asia. The UAE-IX Internet Exchange in Dubai is emerging as a strong digital hub for the Middle East and neighboring countries across Eurasia. With the “hockey stick” continuing to indicate expanding Internet traffic growth rates, the GCC region will play an increasingly critical role for keeping Internet traffic flowing in the future.
To expand the rate of traffic that is generated and delivered within the Middle East, networks in the Middle East have to connect each other at Internet exchange points. That will reduce costs and latency in light of the enormous Internet growth rates.
