I amsterdam - Amsterdam Internet Exchange

AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange) is an independent not-for-profit Internet exchange. On the AMS-IX platform, members have the possibility to exchange internet traffic (the so-called ‘peering’)*. All large Dutch and a great number of foreign Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) are connected to this platform, each connected with their own port(s) to the AMS-IX infrastructure. The internet traffic has grown strongly since the founding of the AMS-IX in the mid-nineties and on 14 February, 2007 the maximum throughput of switched traffic on the AMS-IX platform broke through the 250Gb/s barrier.

(*The Internet is a worldwide network of networks. These different types of networks are connected together using the Internet protocol (IP). An Internet Exchange is a place where Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can interconnect these independent networks and exchange Internet traffic with each other. This exchanging of national and/or international IP traffic on an Internet Exchange is generally known as ’peering’).

Interview with Job Witteman, Chief Executive Officer of AMS-IX.

Why would someone choose the Amsterdam Internet Exchange over other cities?

The larger the exchange the more attractive you are because the whole idea behind having an internet exchange is that with one single connection you can exchange traffic on a bilateral basis with anyone who is also connected, so the more parties that are on the exchange the more parties you can exchange traffic with.

If you look at other exchanges you will primarily find national ISPs to exchange traffic with, for instance, a French exchange will have primarily French parties connected, while if you go to Germany you will find mainly German parties. But in Amsterdam you find more international parties than anywhere else. Amsterdam and The Netherlands attracts so many foreign players that the status of the Internet Exchange here differs from other exchanges.

Have more jobs been created due to AMS-IX?

With one connection (a physical port on a technical platform) you connect your network and then exchange traffic with other connected parties. So in that respect it’s not a ‘people’ business; you don’t need to be here physically here to exchange traffic with someone else. But of course you do need a POP (point of presence) for a technician or an engineer to maintain the connection. But even though minimal human presence is required, we have still found that large parties do still like to come and set up a physical presence in Amsterdam. Yahoo and Google, for instance, have both set up sales offices here.

Does AMS-IX make any difference to the lives of ordinary people living in the city?

Absolutely. Because of this huge data hub there’s a concentration of carriers and providers in Amsterdam, which means ample choice for local service providers to buy their connectivity or exchange it for free at the exchange, so it’s much cheaper for local parties here to offer higher bandwidth than it would be for similar parties abroad. So in the end, yes, the end user definitely also benefits.

The ICT-infrastructure in The Netherlands is world class. Has this helped?

Well, there’s certainly choice as there is fiber-optics galore in Amsterdam. Wherever you open an office in Amsterdam you can have a fibre-connection, no problem. But it’s not the case that a good infrastructure will automatically attract more people here.  Rather, Amsterdam has other benefits to offer. It has such an international atmosphere, everyone speaks English, it’s relatively cheap, and it’s a small city that is pleasant to live in, so it attracts more people than somewhere like Stockholm (which has a better infrastructure).

The future?

With fiber to the home, more people going on Second Life, new tv developments; demand is certainly growing. Amsterdam is still one of the main places in the world for the Internet and people recognise Amsterdam as a leading city in this regard. We need to keep that focus.

For more information about AMS-IX see: www.AMS-IX.net