London Internet Exchange (LINX)

What London Internet Exchange (LINX) does

London Internet Exchange (LINX) is a member-owned, not-for-profit Internet Exchange Point (IXP) operator founded in 1994 and headquartered in Peterborough, United Kingdom. It runs multi-site, interconnected peering fabrics across 24 UK data centre points of presence (including 16+ in London), Northern Virginia in the United States (LINX NoVA spanning Ashburn, Manassas, and Reston), three African metros (Nairobi, Mombasa, Accra), and two Middle Eastern locations (Jeddah via the JEDIX partnership with STC and Riyadh via center3, both "Powered by LINX"). The platform serves approximately 900 member networks spanning 950+ Autonomous System Numbers across more than 75 countries, including ISPs, mobile operators, content delivery networks, financial institutions, hyperscalers, and government networks.

The core technology stack is built on Nokia 7220 IXR D3L switches running SR Linux Network Operating System, Smartoptics DCP-404 muxponders for 400G DWDM optical transport, and OpenBGPD route servers, with an IX-API (co-developed with AMS-IX and DE-CIX) for operations and analytics and LSO API alignment via the Mplify alliance. Service offerings extend beyond raw peering to include Private VLAN, Closed User Groups, colocation at partner data centres, the exclusive Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS) partnership, and advanced DDoS mitigation via LINX Protect (basic) and LINX Protect+ (powered by Nokia Deepfield). IX-as-a-Service ("Powered by LINX") enables third parties to operate white-label exchanges on LINX infrastructure.

The business model is subscription-based and recurring, generating revenue from monthly port and membership fees, colocation charges, private interconnect services, and managed IXP contracts. Pricing is tiered and location-specific — entry-level ports cost approximately $130 per month at LINX Nairobi — with a 2026 update doubling included free peering bandwidth to 4 Gbps on 10 GE ports across UK, US, and African locations and 12-month free promotional periods at newly launched African PoPs to seed adoption. Go-to-market is community-led and multi-channel: direct enterprise sales through dedicated interconnection specialists, reseller partnerships (Pulsant, Console Connect, WaveX, BICS, Indatel), and embedded distribution through data-centre partners (Digital Realty, IXAfrica, iColo, Africa Data Centres, PAIX, Equinix, QTS, Telehouse). LINX is ISO/IEC 27001 certified, FSQS registered for financial services, GDPR compliant, and governed by a member-elected board including directors from hyperscalers such as Meta and Akamai.

Name

London Internet Exchange (LINX)

Legal name

London Internet Exchange Ltd

Website

https://linx.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

London Internet Exchange (LINX) is a member-owned, not-for-profit Internet Exchange Point operator founded in 1994. It runs multi-site peering infrastructure across the UK, US, Africa, and Middle East, serving approximately 900 member networks from 75+ countries including ISPs, CDNs, financial institutions, and enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Internet Exchange Point (Network Interconnection Infrastructure)

akta.pro primary industry

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) & Peering Services (HDABALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Carrier Interconnection & Peering Exchanges (IXPs, private interconnect, cross-connect) (HDAIAEAG), Interconnection-Focused Colocation (IX / Meet-Me-Room Ecosystems) (HDABACAF)

Keywords

• Internet exchange point
• Peering services
• Network interconnection
• Carrier neutral colocation
• Cloud peering

Headquarters

HQ city

Peterborough

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Peering and Port Access Services: LINX charges membership fees and port fees for access to its peering fabric. Members pay a monthly fee (approximately $130 including a 10G port and 2Gbps of peering service at LINX Nairobi) with additional charges for higher bandwidth ports. As a not-for-profit member-owned exchange, revenues are reinvested into infrastructure and community services.
2. Colocation Services: LINX offers colocation in world-leading data centres, providing physical space, power, and network connectivity alongside its peering services.
3. Cloud Connect (Private Connectivity): Private connection services enabling direct network-to-network and network-to-cloud connectivity, including the exclusive Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS).
4. Reseller and Channel Partner Revenue: Channel partners (Pulsant, Console Connect, WaveX, BICS, and others) resell LINX services to their own customer bases, generating revenue through port and service fees shared with or paid to LINX.
5. IX-as-a-Service / Powered by LINX: Managed IXP services where LINX provides operational expertise, technical platform, and brand to power internet exchanges for third parties (e.g., JEDIX in Saudi Arabia, center3 in Jeddah and Riyadh).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

LINX operates Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) that let networks directly exchange IP traffic via peering, reducing reliance on paid transit. Memberships and ports are sold on subscription across UK, US, African and Middle Eastern exchange locations, alongside colocation, private VLAN, Closed User Groups, DDoS mitigation, Cloud Connect, Microsoft Azure Peering Service, and a managed IX-as-a-Service offering.

Product overview

LINX operates as an internet exchange point (IXP) providing a platform for networks to peer and exchange traffic. The core offering is Peering Services at multiple global locations (UK: LON1, LON2, Manchester, Scotland, Wales; US: Northern Virginia; Africa: Accra, Nairobi, Mombasa; Middle East: Jeddah, Riyadh via center3). Additional services include Cloud Connect for private cloud access, the exclusive Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS), DDoS mitigation (LINX Protect/LINX Protect+), Private VLAN, Closed User Group, Colocation, and IX-as-a-Service for organizations wanting to launch their own IXP. Members access services through the LINX Member Portal and Marketplace platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Peering Services Core internet exchange service enabling networks to exchange IP traffic directly at LINX's IXP locations across the UK, US, Africa and Middle East. Used by ISPs, CDNs, content providers, financial institutions and enterprises to lower transit costs, reduce latency and improve routing control.
• Cloud Connect Private connectivity service enabling members to bypass the public internet and connect directly to major cloud providers with improved security and performance.
• Microsoft Azure Peering Service (MAPS) Exclusive service providing direct, low-latency peering with Microsoft (AS8075) for Microsoft 365, Teams, Dynamics365 and other Microsoft SaaS workloads, with no minimum traffic levels required.
• DDoS Mitigation (LINX Protect / LINX Protect+) DDoS protection for LINX members. LINX Protect provides basic DDoS mitigation across all peering LANs; LINX Protect+ adds Nokia Deepfield big-data analytics and 7750 DMS for next-generation protection.
• Private VLAN Private virtual LAN service enabling members to create secure, isolated network segments for specific communities within the LINX platform, configured through the member portal.
• Closed User Group Private peering community allowing selected networks to exchange traffic in a controlled, exclusive group, managed via the member portal.
• Colocation Co-location services at partner data centres, providing physical space, power and network connectivity alongside LINX peering fabric for member equipment.
• IX-as-a-Service (Powered by LINX) Managed IXP service allowing operators to leverage LINX's platform, operational expertise and technical infrastructure to launch and run their own internet exchanges (e.g. JEDIX in Saudi Arabia with STC).
• ConneXions Reseller Programme Remote peering programme allowing networks to acquire a reseller port and offer LINX peering, colocation and remote access services to their own customer bases.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced peering bandwidth costs: first 4Gbps free on 10GE ports (2026)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WaveXcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 16 March 2026WaveX, a Kenyan ISP based in Nanyuki, is the first reseller partner at both LINX Nairobi and LINX Mombasa, enabling smaller ISPs and regional networks across East Africa to access peering services without needing physical infrastructure at data centres.
• Digital RealtycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 December 2025Digital Realty hosts LINX Accra at its ACR2 data centre in Accra, Ghana. iColo (a Digital Realty company) hosts LINX Nairobi and LINX Mombasa at its NBO1, MBA1, and MBA2 facilities. This partnership spans multiple African locations, providing physical infrastructure for LINX's peering fabric.
• Asteroid (Kenya)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 September 2025Co-operative agreement between LINX and Asteroid for transitioning Asteroid's Mombasa and Nairobi customer networks to LINX's interconnection hubs before Asteroid's cessation of operations in Kenya at end of 2025. Asteroid was the incumbent IXP incubator in Kenya.
• Digital Realty ACR2 (Accra)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 June 2025LINX Accra IXP is hosted at Digital Realty's ACR2 data centre near submarine cable landing stations in downtown Accra, Ghana. This marks LINX's third African location and expansion into West Africa.
• PulsantcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 June 2025Pulsant became a ConneXions Reseller Partner, offering LINX services to clients across UK data centres in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Birmingham, and Fareham. Pulsant is the only colocation provider connecting all three LINX UK PoPs with a national backbone.
• PAIX Data Centres (Nairobi)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 March 2025PAIX Nairobi (Britam Tower, Upper Hill) became a full access point to LINX Nairobi in March 2025, extending LINX's African interconnection platform to a 4-site fabric. Networks at PAIX can connect with a free cross-connect and access the full LINX Nairobi peering community.
• BICScoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 20 December 2023BICS is an international connectivity provider and existing LINX Diamond Reseller partner in London, extending to LINX Nairobi to provide networks with routes into the new IXP from anywhere on its global network spanning 200+ countries.
• iColo (A Digital Realty Company)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2023iColo: A Digital Realty Company provides neutral data centre facilities for LINX Nairobi (NBO1) and LINX Mombasa (MBA1, MBA2). iColo supported the LINX-Asteroid transition, with its facilities hosting the majority of impacted Asteroid customer networks.
• Africa Data CentrescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 May 2023Africa Data Centres (Cassava Technologies group) provides a full PoP for LINX Nairobi at its NBO1 facility, enabling customers to access LINX's peering community with a single cross-connect. Partnership announced following strategic agreement to grow opportunities across new African markets.
• SmartopticscoreTechnology or Integration · 22 April 2023Smartoptics provides optical networking solutions for LINX — DCP-404 muxponders for 400G DWDM at LINX Nairobi and DCP-F open line systems deployed in LINX London hubs since 2019.
• Console ConnectcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 February 2023Console Connect signed as official ConneXions Reseller Partner, reselling LINX services at London and NoVA through its IXaaS platform, enabling remote peering and connectivity management for users across 20+ IXPs worldwide.
• NokiacoreTechnology or Integration · 9 November 2022Nokia is the technical supplier partner for LINX Nairobi (7220 IXR D3L switches and SR Linux NOS) and LINX NoVA refresh. Nokia Deepfield DDoS security partnership delivers LINX Protect+ — the first UK IXP to offer advanced DDoS protection with Nokia's big data analytics.
• IXAfrica Data CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 June 2022IXAfrica is the largest hyperscale data centre in East Africa (22.5MW IT capacity). LINX Nairobi's primary footprint was launched from IXAfrica, providing the region with future-proof interconnection solutions for global networks.
• TELEHOUSE NYIIXcoreTechnology or Integration · 9 June 2021Strategic partnership between LINX NoVA and TELEHOUSE NYIIX interconnects their mutual ecosystems, empowering members of each IXP with expanded peering opportunities and providing a redundant, resilient route from New York to Northern Virginia.
• Microsoft (Azure Peering Service)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2021LINX is one of only a handful of official Microsoft partners delivering Azure Peering Service (MAPS), enabling direct low-latency peering with Microsoft (AS8075) at LINX locations globally. No minimum traffic levels required. Available at LON1, Manchester, NoVA, Nairobi, Mombasa, and Accra.
• Saudi Telecom Company (STC) — JEDIXcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 December 2018Strategic partnership established JEDIX powered by LINX in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. LINX provides expertise and ongoing operational support for the exchange built on STC's neutral secure data centre. Partnership later expanded to include center3 IXP in Riyadh. STC is Saudi's incumbent and largest MENA operator.
• IndatelminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLINX joined Indatel as affiliate to expand interconnection opportunities for rural broadband providers across the US, leveraging Indatel's network of over 900 independent telco members.
• QTS Data Centers (Ashburn VA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQTS Data Centers became the 4th data centre partner for LINX NoVA at its Ashburn VA facility, enabling Netskope and other networks to connect to LINX NoVA from this location.
• EuroISPAminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLINX engages with EU policy through EuroISPA partners to influence EU policy, mitigate undesirable regulatory divergence, and represent member interests in the European market.
• British Standards Institution (BSI)minorOthersBSI conducted ISO 27001 certification assessment for LINX. BSI certification marks are internationally recognized and represent quality, reliability, and continual improvement.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Console Connect (IXaaS): Console Connect is both a LINX channel partner and a competitor offering its own IX-as-a-Service platform across 20+ IXPs. It competes with LINX for remote peering customers while simultaneously reselling LINX services — a useful comparable for the IX-as-a-Service business model.
• NetIX Communications: NetIX operates a global Ethernet-based exchange platform with presence in multiple countries. As an emerging player, it focuses on remote peering and content exchange services, partially overlapping with LINX's IX-as-a-Service and reseller propositions.

Direct peers

• FranceIX: FranceIX is a not-for-profit, member-owned internet exchange in France with growing pan-African ambitions, operating IXPs in several African countries. It directly competes with LINX for European peering traffic and increasingly in African expansion markets.
• AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange): AMS-IX is a not-for-profit, member-owned internet exchange based in Amsterdam with global expansion ambitions, including managed IX-as-a-Service offerings. It is the closest direct comparable to LINX in terms of governance structure, service portfolio, and pan-European presence, and LINX board member Cara Mascini was previously AMS-IX's CMO/CSO for 10 years.
• DE-CIX: DE-CIX operates the world's largest IXP by traffic volume, headquartered in Frankfurt with global presence across multiple continents. It directly competes with LINX in peering services, colocation, and IX-as-a-Service, and is LINX's most significant scale competitor in international markets.

Regional players

• NIXI (National Internet Exchange of India): NIXI operates India's neutral IXPs and is comparable to LINX in operating a multi-location IXP platform serving diverse member networks. It represents a regional peer in a high-growth emerging market where LINX does not currently operate.
• SwissIX: SwissIX is a not-for-profit, member-owned IXP in Switzerland providing peering services to Swiss and international networks. It is comparable to LINX in governance model and core service offering but operates only regionally, providing a useful governance benchmark.
• JINX (Johannesburg Internet Exchange): JINX is Africa's oldest IXP, operating in South Africa. It is comparable to LINX as a regional African IXP target, and represents competitive context for LINX's broader pan-African expansion strategy beyond Kenya and Ghana.

Broad incumbents

• Equinix Internet Exchange: Equinix operates Equinix Internet Exchange across its global data centre footprint, bundling IXP services with colocation and interconnection. As a publicly traded infrastructure giant, it competes with LINX as part of a much broader portfolio of services, particularly at Equinix MA5 (Manchester) where LINX also operates.

Others

• Nokia Deepfield: Nokia Deepfield is LINX's technology partner for LINX Protect+ DDoS mitigation. It is adjacent rather than directly competitive, but is thematically relevant as a participant in the DDoS/security infrastructure ecosystem where LINX is expanding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/malcolm_at_linx
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/LINXnetwork
• Facebookfacebook.com/london-internet-exchange-294830524043693
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/linx

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about London Internet Exchange (LINX)