IXs in Chicago, Dallas, New York, Phoenix and Richmond continue to meet OIX’s standards for neutral interconnection
The OIX Association (OIX), a 501(c)(6) non-profit industry association and DE-CIX, one of the world’s leading carrier and data centre-neutral Internet Exchange (IX) operators, has announced the renewal of DE-CIX’s OIX certifications for its North American IX’s located in Chicago, Dallas, New York, Phoenix and Richmond.
It is now the longest-running OIX-certified IX in North America.
The OIX-1 renewals highlight DE-CIX’s continued commitment to supporting open standards and fostering education and outreach on the importance of neutral interconnection services.
Since its establishment in 2014, OIX has played a crucial role in promoting open standards, vital for the interoperability of different technologies and the development of a robust interconnection ecosystem. The demand for neutral IXs – those operated by a third party rather than by a data centre operator or carrier – has grown significantly in the US, with these neutral IXs now accounting for 80% of all US IXs and 70% of the top 50 largest IXs in the country, according to data from DE-CIX.
OIX sets the benchmark for interconnection infrastructure with standards for IXPs and data centres, representing engineering excellence and operational transparency. This ensures reliability for extensive cloud and content networks and optimises internet functionality and stability.
DE-CIX, which offers its interconnection services in 55 locations globally, launched its North American operations in 2014 with the establishment of DE-CIX New York, which is now the largest IX in New York and one of the top five largest IXs in the USA.
The IX operator has attained OIX certification for each of its IXs in the US upon establishment. All five IXs continue to be certified: DE-CIX New York (2015), DE-CIX Dallas (2016), DE-CIX Chicago (2021), and most recently, DE-CIX Richmond and Phoenix (2022).
“Over the last 10 years, OIX has raised the bar on interconnection and ecosystem standards for IXs and data centres, providing a solid framework of best practices for operators,” said Ed d’Agostino, Vice President of DE-CIX North America. “With DE-CIX’s successful operations in the US, the last decade has seen a transformation of the IX landscape in the US, with open standards and data centre and carrier neutrality becoming increasingly in demand. We are proud to continue our strong cooperation with OIX and to support the dissemination of open standards.”
Chris Grundemann, Chairman of OIX, said: “OIX wants to take this opportunity to acknowledge DE-CIX’s continued commitment to enhancing open interconnection, globally. DE-CIX’s support of OIX certification for its North American IXPs is undoubtedly critical to our mission of promoting an open and distributed interconnection ecosystem.”
The IX OIX-1 certification is specifically designed for IXs serving as a point of network interconnection. It is validation that DE-CIX has met the strictest criteria defined by a committee of global industry peers and that DE-CIX’s infrastructure has proven to be of the highest standard for interconnection, resiliency and reliability.
