TI Sparkle, DE-CIX establish neutral Internet exchange in Palermo

TI Sparkle, the international services business within Telecom Italia Group, will partner with Internet exchange provider, DE-CIX to create an Internet exchange (IX) in "Sicily Hub," TI Sparkle's new data center in Palermo.

The exchange, based on DE-CIX's APOLLON platform, will enable carriers that land their IP backbones in Sicily to directly interconnect with each other and to other providers with a presence in the facility. The partners say that the data center already serves several major content providers and other tenants.

The Sicily Hub sits closer to North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East than any other European peering point, the companies assert. It is connected to all of Sicily's cable landing stations and is served by TI Sparkle's Seabone IP transit service.

"Our partnership with DE-CIX and their new IX node in our Sicily Hub is the most important milestone in the creation of a massive IP gravitational center in the middle of the Mediterranean," asserted Alessandro Talotta, TI Sparkle's CEO. "We will be able to better serve ISPs in the area, including Africa and the Middle East, by bringing worldwide content directly to their doorsteps.

"The presence of DE-CIX's leading global carrier-neutral Internet exchange as well as the most relevant global content providers that deliver media, gaming, e-commerce, social networks and video platforms, make Sicily Hub the best location for top-quality and cost-efficient public and private peering in the region," Talotta added.

"There is an intense need in the region to bring content closer to the end users," said Harald A. Summa, DE-CIX president. "The powerful combination of Sicily Hub and DE-CIX's APOLLON platform will support Internet growth in this region so that end users will have a better Internet experience, better security and a lower risk of network outages."

The two companies suggest that the work on the Sicily Hub is the first step toward a broader collaboration that will include other locations in the Mediterranean.

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