January 15, 2025 marks a historic date for Namex and for the connectivity landscape in Italy: for the first time, one terabit per second of traffic has been reached in Rome. This milestone represents a cornerstone in the evolution of the sector, reflecting the growing need for connectivity in the era of high-quality streaming and cloud services, which continue to drive the demand for broadband.
Reaching the first terabit of traffic is an event that goes beyond the simple technological aspect. It testifies to the evolution of Namex as a reference exchange point and the increasingly central role that IXPs play in ensuring network efficiency. The traffic generated by platforms such as Netflix, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, TikTok, Disney+, DAZN, and Prime Video highlights the widespread diffusion of digital content and cloud services, which require increasingly robust infrastructures to ensure optimal performance.
The terabit milestone is not just a demonstration of Namex’s technical growth, but also a response to the growing demand for connectivity in the country, in an increasingly interconnected world. Thanks to continuous infrastructure improvements, including strategic investments in Central-Southern Italy, Namex is making a significant contribution to reducing the digital divide and promoting economic development in these regions. It is ready to face future challenges and support the long-term evolution of the Internet throughout Italy, ensuring more stable and accessible connectivity. [1].
February was the month of the Sanremo Festival, and the Namex Observatory, which has been monitoring the traffic generated by the event for a couple of years [2], analyzed the evolution of online viewership through the traffic generated on the RAIplay platform. The numbers are definitely growing compared to past years, but traditional television continues to prevail over online streaming. When an event is broadcast on both platforms, in fact, a decrease in streaming traffic is observed. Below is the comparison of Namex traffic between Friday, February 14 and Saturday, February 15, the two final evenings, compared to the previous week.
During the festival, an average of 576 thousand devices connected each evening (+30% compared to 2024), generating a total of 13.5 million views (+20%). The final evening saw 642 thousand connected devices (+20% compared to 2024), making Saturday, February 15 the day with the highest linear consumption in the history of the platform [3].
— By Flavio Luciani, Namex CTO
[1] https://labs.ripe.net/author/flavio_luciani_1/namex-steps-into-the-terabit-era/
[2] https://labs.ripe.net/author/flavio_luciani_1/sanremo-and-internet-traffic-in-italy/
