LINX Launch First Dedicated Internet Exchange Point in Wales – IXCardiff

The London Internet Exchange (LINX), which acts as a central hub for most of the Internet traffic that passes through and around the United Kingdom, have announced that Wales has now joined Scotland by launching their own dedicated Internet Exchange Point (IXP).

The new carrier neutral IXCardiff facility, which will officially go live on 15th October 2014 at the BT Stadium House data centre, forms part of LINX’s on-going efforts to distribute and decentralise peering within the United Kingdom, which helps to “keep local traffic local“. Doing this can have a number of advantages, such as a general improvement in network resilience and lower latency times for ISPs and content providers.

Julie James, Welsh Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, said:

“The Welsh Government is committed to establishing a world class digital Infrastructure for Wales. The creation of an Internet Exchange in the heart of Cardiff will have wide ranging benefits to the business community in Cardiff and across south Wales. Alongside a number of major investments in telecommunications infrastructure, this will help to make Wales a more connected nation. It will provide a real boost to local enterprises which would otherwise have had to carry a significant cost burden to access this opportunity.”

John Souter, CEO of LINX, said:

“We believe that the time is right for a fresh approach to peering in the UK. Local support is key for the success of any regional Internet exchange, and the South Wales Internet community has demonstrated an overwhelming enthusiasm for a new exchange point in the region, and for the benefits regional peering can bring to their businesses, the local economy and the people of Wales.”

Admittedly ordinary consumers aren’t likely to notice much of a difference and the new IXCardiff will, if it’s anything like Scotland’s (IXScotland), probably not have a huge impact on the sector in general. Indeed the membership list of IXScotland remains fairly smaller (here), which is despite a year of operation, and is naturally dwarfed by the somewhat international mammoth that is LINX (here).