LINX links to NGD

LINX Wales now has a fully functioning point of presence (PoP) at the NGD hyperscale data centre near Newport.

Friday, 4th September 2020 Posted 4 years ago in by Phil Alsop

This follows the previous announcement at the London Internet Exchange (LINX) member conference in London that Next Generation Data (NGD) – now part of Vantage Data Centers – was to become the home of LINX Wales.

Launched in 2015, LINX Wales was present only at the Stadium House data centre facility in Cardiff with the expansion to NGD due to go live in March of this year. However, the project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the regulations put in place. LINX Wales is part of LINX’s other regional interconnection services in London, Manchester, Scotland and USA.

LINX Service Delivery Manager, Neil Ratcliffe has been overseeing the project;

“It’s been great to be able to get back out into the data centres and continue larger projects like the NGD install. We’ve been keeping a close eye on Government regulations and as soon as we were allowed, we wanted to complete the project so local networks in Wales can start benefiting from everything that LINX and peering has to offer.”

Justin Jenkins, UK President and COO Europe, Vantage Data Centers, commented;

“We are delighted our Newport facility has become a major point of presence for LINX Wales. Our customers now have straightforward access to the LINX Wales PoP and the networks peering locally…”

“By keeping traffic local to Wales their networks will benefit from considerably lower latency with fewer hops and improved control, therefore ensuring an enhanced and seamless end user experience.”

Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport Lee Waters said:

“I’m pleased to see that LINX have invested in Wales and that the new Internet Exchange is now up and running in Newport. The Welsh Government looks forward to LINX Wales and its new community of members developing as a valuable asset that will contribute to the broader digital economy in Wales.”