Amazon Web Services has upgraded its Manchester Direct Connect offering to 100 Gbps, adding MACsec encryption for private, high‑speed links to every public AWS region and GovCloud.

AWS has expanded its Manchester Direct Connect service to support 100 Gbps connections, now offering MACsec encryption for private, high‑speed links to every public AWS region and GovCloud.

What is Direct Connect?

Direct Connect provides dedicated network connections between a customer’s on‑premises infrastructure and AWS, bypassing the public internet for lower latency and more consistent performance.

New 100 Gbps capacity in Manchester

The Manchester location now supports up to 100 Gbps per connection, doubling the previous maximum and enabling enterprises to handle larger data workloads without compromising speed.

Customers can provision multiple 100 Gbps links to create aggregated bandwidth, supporting data‑intensive applications such as real‑time analytics, media streaming, and large‑scale migrations.

MACsec encryption for enhanced security

MACsec (Media Access Control Security) encrypts traffic at the link layer, protecting data in transit from eavesdropping and tampering. The feature is now available on all Direct Connect links from Manchester to every AWS public region and GovCloud.

  • End‑to‑end encryption at the physical layer
  • No impact on latency or throughput
  • Compatible with existing Direct Connect routers and switches

The addition of MACsec aligns with AWS’s broader security roadmap, giving customers a simple way to meet compliance requirements for regulated industries.

For organizations already using Direct Connect, the upgrade is a seamless transition: existing connections can be scaled up to 100 Gbps and MACsec can be enabled through the AWS Management Console.

Related coverage: about the technical details and how to enable MACsec on the AWS announcement of 100 Gbps Manchester Direct Connect.

Explore related coverage on the Infrastructure category and see how Amazon is positioning its network services on Amazon on Momentum.

“The 100 Gbps capacity and MACsec support give our customers the confidence to run mission‑critical workloads with both speed and security,” said an AWS spokesperson.