Powering new state-of-the-art Internet Exchange Point in Bangkok, Thailand
[Washington, D.C. and Geneva, Switzerland] — The Internet Society has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) to provide equipment to support the development of the Bangkok Internet Exchange Point (BKNIX) through the Internet Society’s Interconnection and Traffic Exchange (ITE) Program. The BKNIX, which will be operational in December 2014, is expected to dramatically increase Internet capacity, encourage greater efficiency in local Internet traffic routing, create a more robust Internet infrastructure, and improve quality of service for the Southeast Asia region.
The new Bangkok Internet Exchange Point will drive significant social and economic value to Southeast Asia by providing a neutral community IXP, powered by Alcatel-Lucent’s state-of-the art 7750 Service Router (SR). Leveraging the Alcatel-Lucent 400 Gb/s FP3 silicon technology, the 7750 SR delivers exceptional performance and scale for a wide range of IP services, with service intelligence to further drive operational efficiency. Internet service providers (ISPs) and content providers will be able to diversify local and regional peering and data exchange by offering services through BKNIX, allowing wider access and more services to the general public.
“The Asia-Pacific is the world’s largest Internet market, and Southeast Asia in particular is a rapidly emerging sub-region that includes some of the largest users of social media in the world,” said Rajnesh Singh, head of the Internet Society’s Asia-Pacific Bureau. “The establishment of a neutral IXP in Bangkok will do much to improve inter-connectivity within Thailand as well as in the region, as the Internet is critical to all sectors of the economy. This is all the more timely as we approach 2015 and the start of ASEAN integration, as Thailand is a key economy in the region, and a key player in ASEAN.”
“Internet exchanges are a growing market for core routing, and with Internet capacity continuing to expand, their role becomes even more crucial,” said Basil Alwan, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s IP Routing & Transport business line. “Thailand has a tremendous potential market for ultra-broadband Internet connections, but its growth would be improved by stronger network infrastructure. Our solution addresses that problem by providing very high performance and high capacity routing platforms which can meet today’s demand and scale to meet growth demands for the coming years. We are very pleased to join forces with the Internet Society, which works diligently to foster a sustainable worldwide Internet infrastructure, on this very worthwhile initiative.”
Kanchana Kanchanasut, Internet Hall of Fame inductee and Vice-President of the Thai Network Information Center Foundation, noted, “In recent years we have witnessed dramatic growth of the Thai Internet community with increasing domestic content and local traffic. Instead of today’s existing peering arrangements among ISPs, our BKNIX’s neutral IX service will provide economical direct interconnections among them. This relationship will be more sustainable in handling the vast traffic growth in the foreseeable future as content becomes the key driver of the technology. The contribution by Alcatel-Lucent and the Internet Society will enable the Thai Internet pioneering group to embark upon the next phase of the Internet development in Thailand. This IXP endeavor will not only benefit Bangkok but our experience and lessons will be shared throughout Thailand and neighboring countries in the Mekong sub-region.”
For more than 20 years, the Internet Society has been working with countries and Internet community partners to facilitate core network development, interconnection, and Internet traffic exchange, as well as assisting with training individuals to build and maintain the Internet infrastructure in their region. The ITE program includes a broad range of initiatives to foster a robust, efficient, and cost-effective interconnection and traffic exchange landscape in developing regions of the world. The presence of reliable and sustainable Internet infrastructure not only dramatically enriches a country’s Internet ecosystem, but also helps drive economic development.
About the Internet Society
The Internet Society (www.internetsociety.org) is the trusted independent source for Internet information and thought leadership around the world. It is also the organizational home for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). With its principled vision, substantial technological foundation and its global presence, the Internet Society promotes open dialogue on Internet policy, technology, and future development among users, companies, governments, and other organizations.
Working with its members and Chapters around the world, the Internet Society enables the continued evolution and growth of the Internet for everyone. The Internet Society has five regional bureaus, which include the Asia-Pacific Bureau (APAC Bureau). Covering the world’s largest Internet market of approximately 1.2 billion Internet users, the APAC Bureau has 19 Chapters and 30% of the Internet Society’s individual membership.
To help foster Internet development, the Internet Society has facilitated technical training around the world since the early 1990s. Some of the first Internet connections in a number of countries in Asia-Pacific resulted from those efforts through training programs and core capacity building, where local people were trained to maintain and sustain these infrastructures. The APAC Bureau is actively involved in regional and grassroots initiatives to build functioning expert groups, expand connectivity to underserved areas, create locally relevant content, and, overall, foster an environment that is conducive for Internet-enabled communities to thrive and support their own socioeconomic development.
About Alcatel-Lucent (EURONEXT PARIS AND NYSE: ALU)
We are at the forefront of global communications, providing products and innovations in IP and cloud networking, as well as ultra-broadband fixed and wireless access to service providers and their customers, and to enterprises and institutions throughout the world. Underpinning us in driving the industrial transformation from voice telephony to high-speed digital delivery of data, video and information is Bell Labs, an integral part of the Group and one of the world’s foremost technology research institutes, responsible for countless breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Our innovations have resulted in our Group being recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Top 100 Global Innovator, as well as being named by MIT Technology Review as amongst 2012’s Top 50 “World’s Most Innovative Companies”. We have also been recognized for innovation in sustainability, being named Industry Group Leader in the Technology Hardware & Equipment sector in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices review, for making global communications more sustainable, affordable and accessible, all in pursuit of the Group’s mission to realize the potential of a connected world.
With revenues of Euro 14.4 billion in 2013, Alcatel-Lucent is listed on the Paris and New York stock exchanges (Euronext and NYSE: ALU). The company is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.
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Media Contacts:
Internet Society: Wende Cover, [email protected], +1-703-439-2773
Alcatel-Lucent: Sarah Miller, [email protected], +1-613-784-4563