More choice for Germany

We are now the number two exchange in Germany thanks to consistent growth in both Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. Now we have taken another major step and opened for business in Berlin, offering our services in three Berlin data centers - NTT Berlin 1, IPB, and Speedbone. I’d like to give you a quick explanation of why we’ve made this move.

The simple answer is to offer choice in what is currently a rather inadequately served market. Berlin is one of Germany’s key data hotspots, with traffic growing fast and becoming more diverse. But there is effectively only one exchange there just now. By setting up in Berlin we are offering businesses in Berlin and across central and eastern Germany greater choice.

Better Backup

At its most basic level that choice is a backup IX for redundancy, similar to the way in which in the Netherlands a lot of businesses that are serious about their connectivity join both NL-ix and AMS-IX. A lot of businesses in Berlin will be paying to send traffic off to DECIX in Frankfurt. We offer them a high-quality local backup and a more cost-efficient growth path. The same goes for customers who are currently members of BCIX.

But we also bring greater choice in other ways. We have had a lot of interest from prospective customers who are looking not just for redundancy or cost savings but want new networks to peer with, more and better services and greater pan-European reach.

More Services per Port

What a lot of potential customers in Germany might not realise is that NL-ix is more than just an internet exchange. Unlike the traditional exchanges, we offer a full portfolio, including transport and transit. We always want to see people peering, but by adding other layers of services we can give customers a much more complete interconnection platform – a wide range of interconnection services all running from a single port under a single contract.

Greater Reach

Then there is the fact that NL-ix runs a low-latency multi-country interconnection fabric. NL-ix is a pioneer of the decentralized internet. While other Internet exchanges act like single rings of connectivity centred on their home cities, NL-ix is more like a pan-European low-latency mesh of interlocking rings. For our Berlin customers this will bring the rest of Europe to the door. A traditional exchange with localized points of interconnection can connect its customers to all the networks in a metropolitan area, but only NL-ix can bring a spread of networks from across Europe. This means that, as well as growing traffic to existing peers, our Berlin customers will be able to improve IP connectivity to over 400 unique peerable networks, that normally would only be reachable with a Danish, Dutch, English or French footprint.

Good for Business

In short, our presence will improve the interconnection choices German businesses can make in a number of areas. We will not only provide a much-needed local backup, we will also offer a broader portfolio of services and much greater reach, which will improve traffic efficiency and be good for business. I hope that in time our arrival on the scene will be regarded as a boost to the Berlin internet, strengthening the status of Berlin as an international hub.

If you have a German operation and are interested in working with us, please get in touch with me on marien@nl-ix.net