Telx Ethernet exchanges open for business

Although Telx was a relative latecomer to the carrier Ethernet exchange market, it seems to be making up for lost time. The company announced today that it now has five operational exchanges—and that puts it ahead of the schedule it originally set for itself, Telx Chief Marketing Officer Brad Hokamp told Connected Planet.

“We’re gaining traction and momentum,” Hokamp said. “Customers are coming up onto the exchange as we speak.”

Yesterday the company announced its first nine charter members, including KDDI, FiberLight, Intellifiber Networks and others. Those nine carriers include a combination of buyers and sellers, Hokamp said.

Location as competitive advantage

Hokamp argues that the location of Telx’s exchanges—adjacent to Telx-operated meet-me rooms where hundreds of carriers already are co-located--will be a competitive advantage. But not every carrier is connected via Ethernet. According to Hokamp, the most prevalent type of connection is via physical cross-connects over fiber, in which case it’s up to the carrier to determine what protocol is used. Hokamp said he believes Ethernet often is the chosen protocol—and that even if a carrier is using a different protocol, it’s not difficult to support Ethernet.

Another advantage Telx will have in the carrier Ethernet exchange market is reach, Hokamp said. Through a previously announced partnership with fellow Ethernet exchange operator Neutral Tandem, all of Telx’s exchanges will be interconnected with each other and with those of Neutral Tandem. That interconnectivity will enable a carrier connecting at any Telx exchange to interconnect with a carrier located in any other Telx or Neutral Tandem exchange.

As for how Neutral Tandem’s plan to expand its reach through its purchase of global wholesale IP and Ethernet provider Tinet will impact Telx, Telx Vice President Glen Calafati said, “We’re still working through that.”

Equinix expansion

In another development in the Ethernet exchange market, Equinix announced today that it has signed up 16 new carriers to its exchange, including Megapath, Virtela, FiberLight, XO Communications, and others. Equinix also said it has launched a new online portal and extended service to three new European markets—Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Paris—bringing the total number of markets it serves to 10 worldwide.