Cardiff to become internet hub

10 Jun 2014 03:43 PM

Cardiff is set to have its own internet exchange in the heart of the city later this year providing a significant boost for businesses, Economy Minister Edwina Hart has announced.

Currently all internet traffic in south Wales has to be sent via London which is costly for local internet service providers and content providers who have the burden of paying for connectivity to London

An internet exchange enables internet service providers to exchange internet traffic between their networks which is known as “peering”.

The Welsh Government has been working with LINX (the London INternet eXchange), Cardiff County Council and other partners to bring an internet exchange to the heart of Cardiff.

The Minister said it would help give the city and the whole of south Wales a competitive advantage over other regions.

Mrs Hart said:

“The Welsh Government is committed to establishing a first class digital Infrastructure for Wales.  Alongside a number of major investments in telecommunications infrastructure, we believe that the establishment of an internet exchange in our capital city will have far reaching benefits to our business community.  

“This crucial new infrastructure will make Wales a more connected nation.  The involvement of LINX in bringing the exchange to Wales means that all of the LINX membership, whose number include the biggest internet and online content companies in the UK and across the internet, will have the facility to peer in Wales. It will provide a real boost to local enterprises which would otherwise have had to carry a significant transit cost burden to access this opportunity.  We look forward to the successful operation of the Cardiff Internet Exchange.”

Businesses in north Wales are already able to access the internet exchange in Manchester via the Welsh Government’s FibreSpeed network

Creating an internet exchange in Cardiff will help give the city and whole of south Wales a competitive advantage over other regions.  

Intellectual property created in Wales can remain in Wales; internet service providers can benefit from a wider choice of partners; Welsh content can be put onto the internet from Wales and Wales can become a more attractive place for the increasing number of investors who require local access to internet peering.

John Souter, CEO of LINX said:

“Establishing regional Internet Exchange Points is something our members are very keen to support.  We welcome the enthusiasm shown by the local internet community in south Wales, which is crucial for the long term success of the Cardiff Internet Exchange. I would like to encourage as many organisations as possible who would benefit from Internet Peering to contact LINX to discuss how they can be part of this exciting new venture.”