The largest Internet node in the world is located in Frankfurt. The umbrella company DE-CIX (Deutsche Commercial Internet Exchange) operates this node and has now decided to build a small version of the DE-CIX node within the Ruhr area with three providers from the Ruhr area. This small version is called Ruhr-CIX and could create new opportunities for many companies but also private persons from the Ruhr Area.
Ruhr-CIX should ensure short latencies
Up to now, for example, streams or other activities of users from the Ruhr Area have been run via a provider in Frankfurt. Due to this route, between the own network and the provider in Frankfurt, many users know the usual delays. These delays occur especially with activities that require a high bandwidth, e.g. streaming. Through the Ruhr-CIX, people would not get the data packets from a provider in Frankfurt, but directly from their front door. This eliminates a long connection distance and the Internet can be used in a completely different quality.
The three telecommunications providers Dokom21 from Dortmund, Gelsen-Net from Gelsenkirchen and the Bochum-based public utility company TMR started the Ruhr-CIX project on Tuesday. These three providers are already connected by a high-speed ring. With the help of DE-CIX, this already existing connection is now to be expanded into a new large Internet node. The question is no longer Ob, but only how this node can be developed.
Option for companies from the pot
The three telecommunications providers agree that data centers are the factories of the future. The merger will not only offer private individuals a faster Internet connection, but companies in particular will benefit from having an Internet node nearby.
Jörg Figura of Dokom21 already believes that with the Ruhr-CIX, end-to-end data traffic can outstrip the data traffic of cities like Hamburg or Düsseldorf. The reason for this optimism is the location in the middle of the Ruhr area. The IT security sector alone is very strongly represented in Bochum and Gelsenkirchen and would definitely be delighted with the Ruhr-CIX.
Another point, which DE-CIX Managing Director Harald Summa also mentions, is the possibility to create a competitive, secure and trustworthy Cloud infrastructure for Europe. With a potential positioning of US companies, such as Netflix and Amazon, in the Ruhr-CIX, the idea of a Cloud infrastructure for Europe could grow in the long run.
