Market Connectivity Rating, H1 2026

Which cities are probably the most linked, and which of them are the quickest rising for web infrastructure?

Twice a yr, we make public our evaluation of the highest 10 most linked and fastest-growing cities with our Market Connectivity Rating—an interactive software in our Knowledge Middle Analysis Service. The Market Connectivity Rating tracks 45 completely different knowledge factors for each metropolis, together with:

• Knowledge middle energy,
• Variety of ASNs peering regionally,
• Cloud onramps, and extra.

And people knowledge factors create scores in every class for cities on a scale of 0-100. So with out additional ado, listed below are probably the most linked and quickest rising cities for H1 2026.

Most linked cities: H1 2026

1. London | 60.7
2. Frankfurt | 60.1
3. Tokyo | 58.6
4. Singapore | 54.8
5. Amsterdam | 54.6
6. Washington, DC | 52.6
7. New York | 52.5
8. Hong Kong | 51.2
9. Paris | 50.7
10. Los Angeles, CA | 47.6

Most linked cities, 2026 vs. 2025

In contrast with the earlier yr’s listing of most linked cities on the planet, 2026 was a remix. The highest 10 cities remained the identical, with a reshuffling of:

• London (2 to 1) and Frankfurt (1 to 2)

• Singapore (5 to 4) and Amsterdam (4 to five)

• Washington (8 to six), New York (6 to 7), and Hong Kong (7 to eight). 

Tokyo (3), Paris (9), and Los Angeles (10) held their ranks from 2025 to 2026.

 

 

Quickest rising cities: H1 2026

The fastest-growing cities rankings are primarily based on the longer term progress rating—additionally measured on a scale of 1-100—of the highest 200 most linked metro areas.

1. Hong Kong | 34.3
2. Manila | 33.7
3. Columbus, Ohio | 28.1
4. Hangzhou | 27.7
5. Shenzhen | 27.6
6. Singapore | 27.1
7. Cairo | 25.0
8. Daegu | 23.4
9. Washington, DC | 23.2
10. Dallas, TX | 22.6

Quickest rising cities, 2026 vs. 2025

In contrast with the 2025 quickest rising cities rankings, the 2026 listing has a number of surprises.

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio is making its debut on this listing at quantity three, because of its excessive scores in knowledge classes for pricing, laws and governance, knowledge facilities, and native entry. (You possibly can learn extra about how we create these scores beneath.) A number of wholesale industrial knowledge middle operators are increasing throughout the metro together with important hyperscale campus expansions. New improvement is going on throughout New Albany, Hilliard, Columbus, Lancaster, Hebron, Jersey Township, and different close by cities. A lot of this new improvement is utilizing on-site gasoline conversion and different “behind the meter” energy methods.

Dallas, TX 

One other newcomer on the quickest rising cities listing is Dallas, TX, coming in at quantity 10. Dallas scores extremely in knowledge classes for pricing, laws and governance, knowledge facilities, native entry, and cloud infrastructure. The Dallas metro at present has greater than a dozen main industrial knowledge facilities within the close to pipeline.

Kuala Lumpur

One main upset is Kuala Lumpur falling from the highest 10 listing. Previously scoring in first place because the quickest rising metropolis, Kuala Lumpur’s deliberate cloud areas caught our consideration final yr. However as we focus on beneath, Market Connectivity Scores are multifaceted and calculated in response to 9 classes of knowledge, pulling knowledge from a number of TeleGeography merchandise. With all of these inputs, there’s room for surprises as market developments world wide take form.

Kuala Lumpur has skilled a variety of improvement in the previous couple of years. Now, Malaysia is going through constraints that different markets have already seen, curbing additional near-term improvement. Malaysia has, the truth is, introduced that it’s not approving non-AI knowledge middle improvement attributable to energy and water constraints, and this has contributed to Kuala Lumpur rating within the decrease fifth of our prime 200 fast-growth markets for deliberate energy improvement.

 

 

The place you may get this knowledge

These rankings of the ten most linked and quickest rising cities are fueled by TeleGeography’s Knowledge Middle Analysis Service—probably the most complete supply of intelligence on knowledge middle infrastructure and ecosystems. With the Knowledge Middle Analysis Service, you may:

• Entry our Market Connectivity Rating, a strong software that measures present and potential knowledge middle dimension for 3,000 cities worldwide
• Discover an interactive map depicting almost 6,400 energetic knowledge facilities
• Uncover the place to entry completely different networks, web exchanges, or cloud suppliers
• View knowledge middle web site profiles, together with operator contact particulars, megawatt capability, ground area, and important particulars concerning the web site ecosystem
• Get professional evaluation of world knowledge middle market developments compiled from over 1,000 web site surveys and supplemental analysis
• Entry present and historic colocation pricing knowledge for prime international markets.
  

 

How the Market Connectivity Rating works

In short: the MCS is a software to check and summarize market improvement which might be particularly tailor-made to your priorities. It calculates a rating for every market by averaging its relative sub-scores. These are drawn from the information classes described beneath. At any time, chances are you’ll hit the “change weights” button, which helps you to modify how essential every class is to calculating the ultimate rating.

In any case, there is no single reply to which market is the “greatest.” Context is crucial. Do not care about web exchanges? Change their weight to zero. Want entry to cloud infrastructure? Increase its weight to the utmost. The scores will modify accordingly, displaying crucial markets in your scenario.

Knowledge classes

The MCS analyzes 9 broad classes of knowledge, seven of that are derived immediately from TeleGeography datasets. Apparently, these indicators pull not solely from the Knowledge Middle Analysis Service, however different TeleGeography merchandise as nicely. Right here, we’ll present a quick abstract of every class, its supply, and the way it impacts Market Connectivity Scores:

Knowledge facilities

This knowledge group tells us how a market fares in relation to provisioning knowledge middle infrastructure in assist of the native communications market. It’s all about knowledge middle capability in deployment and within the pipeline. Pulling from our in depth Knowledge Middle Analysis Service, the general knowledge middle rating is derived from mixture market capability in place, numbers of websites, and websites in deployment.

One of many sub-categories right here is “Knowledge Facilities Deliberate.” The scoring right here particularly tracks new knowledge middle websites which can be actively in deployment. It does not embody expansions to present amenities or land financial institution purchases; simply the place new buildings are below building and attributable to launch inside the subsequent few years.

Web exchanges

Web Change (IX) presence and exercise is a good indicator of communications market well being, and one we analysis within the Knowledge Middle Analysis Service. Scores for ASNs linked and the variety of IXs out there inform us what number of networks and platforms are current. These scores additionally tell us whether or not the native market is overly depending on an incumbent operator. Extra networks at extra peering places signifies better native competitiveness. One different measure on this class is the share of ASNs which can be worldwide. This offers an early indication of whether or not worldwide carriers see the market as a precious place to deploy.

Pricing

Pulling from our Community Pricing Database this knowledge group offers a basic indicator of the price of connecting in a market. Low scores point out greater prices, which enhance boundaries to market entry and exercise.

Cloud infrastructure

This rating class pulls from numerous knowledge units in our Cloud and WAN Infrastructure Service. It tells us the extent to which cloud functions might be delivered regionally. Prospects entry cloud providers through onramps, which then give them devoted entry to platforms saved both in huge cloud zone knowledge middle constellations or in smaller native cloud zones with extra restricted choices. We monitor all of those right here. We additionally embody CDNs on this listing—the caches that enable content material to be delivered regionally.

Inside this broader knowledge group, we monitor cloud areas deliberate. This indicator tracks introduced, however not but operational, cloud areas. Some have for much longer lag instances to deployment than others.

Lengthy-distance transport

A number of TeleGeography metrics are tied into this broad class. Worldwide web capability and rely of immediately linked cities are pulled from our IP Networks analysis. These are nice indicators of how nicely a given market is built-in into international networks. In some instances, this measure enforces, together with knowledge middle improvement, the rising or persevering with significance of a market. In different instances, it could remind us {that a} market nonetheless has significance as a community hub regardless of slower progress in knowledge middle rollouts.

Subsequent, present and deliberate submarine cables are tracked in our Transport Networks analysis. The variety of energetic and deliberate subsea cables additional implement a market’s place on wider intra-regional or intercontinental phases. After all, landlocked cities don’t have any use for subsea metrics, however the final parts on this class—numbers of long-haul and WAN carriers current from our Cloud and WAN Infrastructure Service—make up the distinction. Right here we are able to see how sturdy the competitors is for entry to the surface world—each for native carriers and for enterprises.

Native entry

This network-specific knowledge group reveals us how huge the mounted broadband market is and the way a lot of the cell market has broadband-level entry. Even when the peering and transport infrastructure is missing in a given location, excessive broadband utilization is a transparent indicator of want for community assist infrastructure. This knowledge is drawn largely from TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database.

Energy

In in the present day’s connectivity markets, no commodity is extra treasured than energy. Most of the world’s most crucial communication hubs are affected by a full-blown disaster in lack of electrical energy to assist knowledge middle, cloud, and community wants. This disaster comes at a time when governments world wide are pushing to scale back dependence on fossil fuels and enhance utilization of unpolluted energy, which is much more scarce. This knowledge group within the MCS makes use of knowledge from the World Power Monitor to rank cities by their present and deliberate availability of unpolluted energy.

Geography & demographics

This class offers bigger macro indicators for every metropolis that point out relative potential for communications market improvement. Many of the particular person measures right here come immediately from TeleGeography, except for World 5000 Database knowledge, which reveals us the variety of main companies with headquarters in a given metropolis. One of many metrics right here offers an intriguing view of how comparatively a given metropolis is pulled into the orbit of or unbiased from different hubs. The measure, “Remoteness from Different Hubs” tells us how town’s Lengthy-Distance Transport rating compares to different cities in a 100-km radius.

Rules & governance

This ultimate class is derived from the World Financial institution’s Worldwide Governance Indicators. It offers a way of how unstable or reliable an area working surroundings could also be by measuring rule of regulation, regulation, stability, and freedom of voice.