Winnipeg added to Canada’s network of Internet Exchange Points

Public invited to MBIX’s first-ever Annual General Meeting

Winnipeg – September 24, 2013 – A coalition of community partners and the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (www.CIRA.ca), will launch Canada’s newest Internet exchange point (IXP) in Winnipeg on September 25, 2013. The establishment of the Manitoba Internet Exchange (MBIX) represents another key step toward creating a more robust domestic Internet for Canada.

Over the past two years, CIRA has been working closely with interested community members in major cities across Canada to support the creation of an expanded IXP infrastructure. In April 2013, the Montreal Internet Exchange was launched in Montreal, a direct result of CIRA’s initiative.

“The launch of MBIX is an important milestone in our continuing effort to facilitate the creation of a domestic Internet infrastructure that is more secure, resilient and affordable,” said Byron Holland, president and CEO of CIRA. “The work continues across Canada to ensure we have a network befitting a digital leader such as Canada.”

A group of Internet leaders, government officials and other stakeholders will gather for an event on the evening of September 25. Preceding the launch event, MBIX will hold its inaugural Annual General Meeting (AGM). Members of the public are invited to participate in the AGM which will be held at the King’s Head Pub and Eatery, 120 King St., at 4:30 p.m.

“The Manitoba Internet Exchange will benefit Winnipeggers in a number of ways,” said Bill Reid, President of MBIX. “Not only will it improve local Internet performance, it will act as a magnet to attract organizations outside of Manitoba to establish a point presence in Winnipeg.”

As an example, Reid explained that Hurricane Electric, an Internet traffic transit provider that recently joined MBIX, will now be able to supply local organizations with access to Internet transit rates competitive with Toronto, Vancouver and United States.

MBIX is a member-driven, volunteer run and vendor neutral not-for-profit corporation committed to enhancing Winnipeg’s Internet infrastructure.

Why does Canada need more IXPs?

An IXP is a large data switch that allows Internet users in the same area, usually a large city, to connect directly with each other. This allows local network traffic to take shorter, faster paths between member networks.

There are about 350 IXPs around the world and they have proven to be integral to the Internet infrastructure of many nations. The U.S. has about 85. Canada has fewer than ten.

Because Canada has so few IXPs, much of the country’s domestic Internet traffic flows outside of the country before eventually reaching its destination. More exchange points would ensure that more Canadian traffic stays in Canada more of the time, resulting in a more robust, economical and better performing domestic Internet. It would also reduce the exposure of Canadian traffic to unreasonable surveillance by foreign government agencies.

About MBIX

The Manitoba Internet Exchange is a not-for-profit corporation, member driven, vendor neutral organization mandated to act as a junction between multiple IP networks. Its members are able to directly connect with one another over an unmetered Ethernet connection, to exchange local Internet traffic. The Manitoba Internet Exchange owns and operates the Ethernet switching platform used to interconnect member networks (http://www.mbix.ca).

About CIRA

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority is the Member-driven organization that manages Canada’s .CA domain name registry, develops and implements policies that support Canada’s Internet community, and represents the .CA registry internationally.

For more information, please contact:

Tanya O’Callaghan

Communications Manager, Canadian Internet Registration Authority

(613) 237-5335 ext. 262

tanya.ocallaghan@cira.ca

Leo Valiquette

inmedia Public Relations

(613) 769-9479

lvaliquette@inmedia.ca