In October 2023, AMS-IX and Wingu Africa signed a partnership agreement to establish AMS-IX Djibouti. Since then, the traffic at Djibouti’s Internet Exchange Point (IXP), now known as AMS-IX Djibouti, has quadrupled over the past year. This increase was announced on September 12 by Wingu Africa, the data center managing DjIX, and their Dutch partner AMS-IX, a leading player in the IXP sector. The surge is attributed to recent growth in traffic from various content delivery networks.

The exact peak traffic volume at DjIX was not specified by the partners. However, World Bank data shows that the peak weekly traffic was about 10.64 gigabits per second (Gbps) as of April 27, 2023, with an average traffic of 2.71 Gbps.

Anthony Voscarides, CEO of Wingu, stated on September 12, “The phenomenal growth in traffic at DjIX is a clear indicator of the increasing demand for reliable and efficient internet services in the region. Our partnership with AMS-IX Djibouti is pivotal in addressing this demand, ensuring that businesses and consumers alike benefit from improved connectivity and reduced costs”.

The expansion of the IXP is expected to enhance Djibouti’s international connectivity potential. As of 2023, the country was connected to nine operational submarine cables with a total capacity of at least 513 Gbps, according to the World Bank. However, the international bandwidth dedicated to internet services was around 20 Gbps in 2022.

As of early 2024, Djibouti had 744,200 mobile phone subscribers, representing a 65% penetration rate, according to DataReportal. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) reports that mobile and fixed internet prices in the country were 10.1% and 8.6% of the average national gross monthly income per capita, respectively (The ICT Development Index 2023).