Wichita State to Host Regional, Carrier-Neutral Internet Hub

Kansas awarded $5 million in grant funding this week to construct the state’s first carrier-neutral Internet exchange point (IXP) at Wichita State University (WSU) to foster collaboration between local and regional network providers and expand access to reliable high-speed Internet.

According to a recent news release, the new Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (CNIXP) LLC will be a joint venture between Kentucky-based broadband nonprofit Connected Nation and entrepreneur Hunter Newby, following their mutual announcement in January that they would establish at least 125 such regional hubs throughout the U.S. The news release said the new facility, located near WSU’s Eck Stadium, will help improve the quality and performance of regional Internet services.

“The IXP will not only support the Wichita State community and its Innovation Campus partners, it will also support economic development by improving the entire regional broadband landscape — preparing Wichita, and Kansas more broadly, for the future evolution of the Internet and all that it will enable,” Connected Nation CEO Tom Ferree said in a public statement. “The facility will also put Kansas ‘on the map’ for new long-haul fiber-optic cable builds and will directly support the new open access fiber-optic conduit system that is being built under a separate $42.5 million federal grant that was awarded to the Kansas Department of Commerce back in June.”

According to the announcement, CNIXP’s new facility will be constructed to withstand 200 mph winds and will feature electrical and mechanical systems that can operate during extended power outages. Construction is set to begin next month and expected to take about 18 months.

“As part of our commitment to Wichita State and the region, CNIXP will also provide space and services for the university to establish a network interconnection presence in the facility at no cost for 40 years so that it can fully realize the facility’s benefits,” Newby said in a public statement. “These services will provide more than $2 million in value back to the university."