Data centre connectivity encompasses three distinct infrastructure layers. Physical diversity — having multiple separate fibre routes entering the facility from different directions — is the baseline requirement for any facility with uptime obligations. A single fibre route, however well-maintained, creates a single point of failure that cannot be mitigated through redundant carrier relationships if both carriers use the same physical duct.

Carrier diversity — the presence of multiple network operators in the facility, providing independently operated transmission paths to different parts of the internet and enterprise network infrastructure — is the commercial connectivity requirement. Carrier-neutral facilities that allow multiple operators to interconnect within the same building provide the broadest connectivity ecosystem and the most competitive commercial terms, because carriers compete for tenants rather than having a captive audience.

Internet exchange access — whether the facility has a physical presence at or direct connectivity to a major internet exchange — determines the peering economics for any tenant with significant internet traffic. A facility with AMS-IX, DE-CIX, or LINX access provides a fundamentally different commercial proposition to one that requires tenants to transit their internet traffic at off-net rates. For AI inference workloads with high egress volumes in particular, internet exchange access is a direct operational cost variable.