Equinix, a global digital infrastructure company, has today announced the Johannesburg Internet Exchange Point (JINX) will be available in its new JN1 International Business Exchange data centre.
JINX is Africa’s longest running exchange point, and has achieved a 100% uptime in the 27 years since it was launched in June 1996.
JINX will be the first and foremost internet exchange point (IXP) partner in Equinix’s brand-new carrier-neutral facility.
It will provide public peering services to the many Internet connectivity and content providers hosted at Equinix in Johannesburg.
Equinix said the partnership of IXP and neutral colocation provider is a critically important feature of internet digital ecosystems hosted at its facilities worldwide.
“The carrier-neutral colocation model is globally recognized as the optimal environment for Internet services to flourish,” said Prenesh Padayachee, the chair of INX-ZA, who run JINX alongside other community-run South African exchanges.
“We are thrilled to be launching our new node in Equinix JN1 data centre and we look forward to delivering on our shared vision, growing and evolving internet services in Johannesburg and South Africa together,” Padayachee said.
“We are delighted to welcome JINX on-board as a well-established and trusted partner that is firmly embedded in the connectivity fabric of South Africa,” added Sandile Dube, managing director for South Africa at Equinix.
Dube was hired recently from Hewlett Packard Enterpirses, where he served as country manager for South Africa.
Dube revealed that JINX will launch at the Equinix location with a strong partner base that includes some of the biggest cloud and connectivity companies in Africa.
“With its global presence across 32 countries, Equinix is an established and reliable partner that is committed to accelerating a digital Africa and keeping Africa’s rich and valuable data in Africa. Our partners will benefit from the knowledge and expertise of our global, and African, team of experts. We are looking forward to working closely with our launching partners to drive business across South Africa,” Dube added.
