Press Release
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced today that her administration has awarded a $5 million grant to construct the state’s first carrier-neutral Internet Exchange Point (IXP) adjacent to Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus. Connected Nation Internet Exchange Points (CNIXP), LLC — a joint venture between Kentucky-based nonprofit Connected Nation and carrier hotel pioneer Hunter Newby — will build, own and operate the facility at the northwest corner of East 21st Street North and Fountain Avenue, directly across from WSU’s Eck Stadium.
The facility will allow local and regional networks to directly peer (i.e., exchange data traffic) with each other, as well as cloud services and content networks (such as Amazon, Netflix, Google and Microsoft) — making connectivity to those and many other networks faster and more secure. The facility will also serve as a venue for the highest-bandwidth, lowest-latency, lowest-cost, most-resilient network connectivity available anywhere in the state, greatly enhancing the quality and performance of regional Internet connections.
“The IXP will not only support the Wichita State community and its Innovation Campus partners,” said Tom Ferree, chairman and CEO of Connected Nation, “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. 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. We couldn’t be more thrilled about this opportunity.”
WSU will provide a 40-year ground lease for the facility as an in-kind matching contribution to the grant, subject to final approval by the Kansas Board of Regents. The hardened modular facility will be constructed to withstand 200 mph winds and will have redundant electrical and mechanical systems so that it can remain fully operational even during extended community power outages. The facility will also be capable of expanding on a modular basis with zero down-time as network operator needs grow in the coming years.
“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,” said Hunter Newby, founder and CEO of Newby Ventures. “These services will provide more than $2 million in value back to the university. Additionally, the synergies with everything happening on the Innovation Campus are nearly limitless. This collaboration will truly be a model for other universities around the country to follow — and once again, WSU is leading the pack.”
“A thriving community is built on connections,” said WSU President Rick Muma. “Establishing a carrier-neutral IXP at Wichita State, right in the heart of our state, will drive innovation and ensure that all Kansans have access to the increased opportunities provided by this highly efficient and reliable digital infrastructure.”
