123Net in Southfield is launching a new internet exchange in Grand Rapids to improve performance and reliability for content developers, cloud providers, internet service providers, and businesses at no additional cost.
The new Grand Rapids Exchange (GR-iX) will support west Michigan internet users with improved connectivity, diversity, lower costs, and reduced latency across the region.
123Net launched the Detroit Internet Exchange (DET-iX) in 2014. In the time since, DET-iX has grown both its membership and traffic, due in part to its free connections and ports, and has attracted content and internet providers like Apple, Microsoft, and Google in addition to regional carriers, businesses, and institutions.
123Net also will be building new fiber optic cable network to be constructed under Lake Michigan linking 123Net’s Byron Center Data Center to Chicago’s connectivity hubs. The addition of the GR-iX to Byron Center’s Data Center will offer “significant” cost and efficiency benefits to internet users in west Michigan and across the state.
The GR-iX initially will be deployed at 123Net’s DC4 facility in Byron Center, south of Grand Rapids. Internet exchange points are located in strategic locations across the globe where content providers can use peer-to-peer connections to share data across networks for greater efficiency.
123Net’s DET-iX is a nonprofit and has become the largest fee-free exchange in the world with an open-access model enabling ISPs to connect directly to one another.
“The GR-iX will follow on the Detroit model as a fee-free service, and we have plans to pursue similar non-profit designation,” says Chuck Irvin, executive vice president at 123Net. “Being successful in the world today requires unfettered access to data. At 123Net, it’s our goal to help Michigan become the best connected on the planet. Implementing the GR-iX and investing in fiber infrastructure are important steps in realizing that goal and increasing the state’s internet independence.”
In June, 123Net and its partner Peninsula Fiber Network jointly unveiled a new $87.5 million middle-mile connectivity project that includes the Lake Michigan project. The route is the first carrier-neutral fiber to be built across the lake and will enable diverse, low latency connections.
A National Telecommunications and Information Administration grant will provide approximately 70 percent of the funding for the new fiber project that will add resiliency to Michigan’s network and will help connect unserved and underserved areas.
Additionally, 123Net is using its scalable and flexible Mosaic software program to roll out ultra-fast high-speed fiber broadband services across Michigan.
The deployment uses Adtran’s XGS-PON technology to connect the state’s communities, including previously underserved areas.
123Net will be able to offer tailored, high-quality connectivity to more customers and fully use the potential of its fiber-based network. 123Net is also using Adtran equipment to provide its customers with secure and strong in-home Wi-Fi services.
“With the flexibility of Adtran’s AI-driven Mosaic software and the support of its expert team, we’ve been able to push forward our commitment to improve connectivity in Michigan,” says Irvin. “Our expanding fiber-to-the-home infrastructure is growing into rural regions, ensuring no community is left behind. Now families in these underserved areas can enjoy the same high-speed, reliable connectivity as those living in dense urban environments,”
