AMS-IX Opens New York Based Exchange Point

The Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX) opened POP in New York and announced that the online streaming platform Netflix is the member AMS-IX US infrastructure. The new exchange is setup in a New York and New Jersey based data centers.

Many data centers, content and IP bandwidth providers joined forces to launch an initiative named Open IX. It aims to bring the European practice of establishing a member-governed Internet Exchange points into the U.S.

Open IX founders say that data center providers like Equinix, Telx, CoreSite and Telehouse operate most of the key internet exchange points and dominate the Internet Exchange market in the US. According to Open IX, this results in high peering costs and a lack of options for redundancy. However it is not clear what are the basics of such statement as AMS-IX charges approximately $680 (500 euro) for non-SLA protected 1 GigE peering port,while Equinix’s price for similar service for example is less than $400 per month.

Equinix maintains the highest number of Internet Exchange points in the US. The company operates IX in New York, Ashburn, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles and Palo Alto.

According to those who want to promote the European Internet Exchange model it results in an inexpensive private and public peering and traffic transparency while members can influence the decision making process.

The new initiative Open IX will a body, which is aimed to certificate data center and Internet Exchange operators which adopt its guidelines and procedures.

Open IX plans to reject applications for certification of any projected Internet Exchange project is those are planned to use Equinix facility for example. As of now Equinix did not comment on the Open IX initiative. Company’s representative said that Equinix monitors the new in the IX and interconnect market and are aware of the Open IX efforts.

Data center news website Data Center Dynamics has quoted some data center executives like Vinay Nagpal from  DuPont Fabros, who says that opening POPs for AMS-IX or London Internet Exchange (LINX) into its facilities will improve the customer portfolio of the data center providers. Hi’s company’s New Jersey data center will host a LINX exchange and its Virginia site will host AMS-IX.