A carrier-neutral, non-profit Internet Exchange, NeutrINX, has gone live in Centurion as of the beginning of the month.
The first peering point is located in the Ambronex data centre, in Centurion, and NeutrINX says it is looking into expanding to Sandton and possibly Cape Town.
NeutrINX has been co-founded by Jaco Kroon, MD of Ultimate Linux Solutions as well as Kroon Information Systems, and Edwin Peer, director of Open Track Studios and It Is Electronics.
Peer says: “There's a weakness in the current model and we think there is the need for something more impartial.”
According to NeutrINX, it operates independent of affiliations with Internet and data centre service providers, “with the sole objective of facilitating the interconnection of data and voice networks by building and operating open access, carrier-neutral Internet exchanges and associated infrastructure”.
The first peering point is in Centurion, due to its proximity to the technology dense Midrand and Highveld Technopark areas. NeutrINX adds that it is a convenient middle ground for peering partners in Pretoria and Johannesburg to meet.
“Customers may connect directly to the exchange without necessarily taking up hosting space in the host data centre, via multiple access options, including Telkom SA, Dark Fibre Africa, other metro-Ethernet operators and self-provisioned wireless to a tower facility on the roof,” says NeutrINX.
Expansion on demand
Peer says: “We've already had people showing interest in us setting up exchanges in Cape Town and Sandton, which we are looking into. Expansion will depend on demand, and we'll set up further peering points as the demand arises.
“The intent is to provide a layer two metro-Ethernet backbone connecting all the peering points into a single distributed Internet exchange.”
“We are not interested in making money building Internet exchanges, but as the founders of NeutrINX, we definitely have an interest in being part of the solution when it comes to reducing domestic bandwidth costs,” says NeutrINX.
Pricing begins at R1 500 per month for a 100Mbit port, but NeutrINX says it is offering 100Mbit ports free of charge for the first six months of operation as an introductory offer. Full pricing details are available on the NeutrINX site.
The company is open to discussions with any carrier-neutral, open access data centre operator in SA. Ports will be available on a 'first come, first served basis' and “all participants will get to share fairly in the benefits of cheaper domestic connectivity”.
NeutrINX is still in the process of completing the registration of the company as a non-profit with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission.
The Internet Service Provider's Association of South Africa (ISPA) currently manages Internet exchanges in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and is in the process of setting up the Durban Internet Exchange.
According to ISPA, more than 30 ISPs currently peer with JINX, while 16 peer with CINX.
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