Riyadh · Saudi Arabia
PeeringDB records two exchanges in Riyadh: SAIX Saudi Arabia Riyadh with 35 participants and center3 IX Riyadh with 12, plus eight colocation facilities holding 29 network presences. SAIX Riyadh is the better connected of the two. An IP that geolocates to Riyadh shows where an operator registered the block, not where a device sits.
Internet exchanges in Riyadh
An exchange is a shared switch where networks hand traffic to each other directly. Participant counts come from PeeringDB, where each network maintains its own record.
| Exchange | Participants | Registry carriers peering |
|---|---|---|
SAIX Saudi Arabia Riyadh Saudi Arabia Internet Exchange Riyadh | 35 | none in the registry |
center3 IX Riyadh center3 Internet Exchanges powered by LINX | 12 | none in the registry |
Exchange records: PeeringDB.
Colocation facilities
Buildings where networks put equipment. The network count is how many PeeringDB members list a presence there, which shows where capacity in the city sits.
| Facility | Networks present | Address |
|---|---|---|
| KACST Building 44 | 8 | King Abdullah Branch Rd Al Raed |
| center3 RUH4 - Riyadh | 8 | not listed |
| center3 RUH1 - Riyadh | 6 | not listed |
| center3 RUH3 - Riyadh | 3 | not listed |
| center3 RUH2 - Riyadh | 2 | not listed |
| center3 RUH5 - Riyadh | 1 | not listed |
| Nournet Nahdah Data Centre | 1 | Ibn Alhaitham St. |
| center3 RUH6 - Riyadh | 0 | not listed |
What a Riyadh IP address tells you
Riyadh's peering sits mostly in one place. SAIX Saudi Arabia Riyadh carries 35 participants, roughly three times the 12 at center3 IX Riyadh, and PeeringDB counts 47 peer records across the city. Colocation is spread more thinly: eight facilities hold 29 network presences between them, with KACST Building 44 and center3 RUH4 at eight networks each, center3 RUH1 at six, and the rest in low single digits. No mobile ASN from the Saudi carrier registry is listed at either Riyadh exchange.
An address that geolocates to Riyadh may not be a device in Riyadh. Operators announce address blocks from a registry record, and that record carries one address for the whole allocation, often a head office rather than the street where a subscriber connects. Mobile traffic leaves through a small number of gateways, so subscribers spread across the country can appear at whichever gateway city the operator routes them through. Geolocation databases then follow the operator's own published location.
Someone checking a Riyadh address gets more from the origin ASN than from the city label. Look up which network announces the specific prefix, read the netname and the inetnum range on that prefix rather than on the parent allocation, and check whether the announcing network appears at SAIX Saudi Arabia Riyadh or in any of the eight Riyadh facilities. A network with no Riyadh presence in PeeringDB can still hold addresses that a database places in the city.
Questions
Which internet exchanges are in Riyadh?
PeeringDB lists two. SAIX Saudi Arabia Riyadh, the Saudi Arabia Internet Exchange location in the city, has 35 participants, and center3 IX Riyadh, part of the center3 Internet Exchanges powered by LINX, has 12. Counting facility records as well, the city holds 47 peer entries.
Do Saudi mobile carriers peer in Riyadh?
Not according to PeeringDB. Neither Riyadh exchange lists a mobile ASN from the Saudi carrier registry among its participants. That does not mean carriers have no presence in the city; it means their peering is absent from the exchange participant lists PeeringDB publishes.
Does an IP that geolocates to Riyadh mean the device is there?
No. The city label comes from the operator's registry entry for the address block and from geolocation databases that copy it. A block registered to a Riyadh address can carry traffic from subscribers anywhere the operator runs, because mobile gateways aggregate users far from where they connect.
Sources
- PeeringDB - exchanges, participant counts, facilities and network presence, snapshot 2026-09-07
- PROXIES.SX carrier and ASN registry - operator ASNs used to match peering participants