GetaFIX, the Philippines’ largest neutral internet exchange (IX), and leading IX operator DE-CIX, have announced a strategic partnership that will connect the Philippines to DE-CIX’s Southeast Asian distributed interconnection ecosystem.

Through this partnership GetaFIX will be able to interconnect its members with the DE-CIX ecosystem via Singapore, offering optimized, low-latency, resilient, and secure access to cloud players like AWS and Azure, as well as dedicated connections to the Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Dynamics software-as-a-service clouds.

The partnership will add a further 40 networks to the DE-CIX Southeast Asian interconnection platform. Beyond Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, this is the fourth major market integrated into the DE-CIX neutral interconnection ecosystem.

DE-CIX explains that with a population in excess of 110 million, the Philippines tops the world listing for the country that spends most time consuming digital content on social media. However, fixed-line internet penetration rates for individuals remain low in comparison to its Southeast Asian neighbours, as does the broadband available for business applications. Around 85% of the content consumed is sourced from Singapore; therefore latency can also be a challenge.

DE-CIX’s partnership model enables partner IXs to benefit from DE-CIX’s ecosystem building. The DE-CIX ecosystem in Southeast Asia encompasses IXs in Singapore, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Brunei on Borneo Island, with further markets to come. 

he DE-CIX Internet Exchanges in Southeast Asia offer a shared interconnection fabric where participants at one IX can interconnect directly with networks at other DE-CIX IXs in the region. This means that through the connection to DE-CIX Singapore, networks from the Philippines can also interconnect with networks connected to the DE-CIX IXs in Malaysia and Brunei at no extra cost.