Minneapolis is major metropolitan Point of Presence (PoP) in the US; not far behind Chicago, the Midwest’s largest metropolitan hub, Minneapolis the home of approximately 18 Fortune 500 companies. Following its May 2012 acquisition of the Minneapolis Gateway, Cologix has been steadily gaining ground within the major Midwest market. The company has since on-boarded over 100 customers that fit its philosophy of a ‘mature interconnection community’ with direct access to its 20, 000 sq. ft., downtown Minneapolis facility at 511 11th Avenue South; the most recent being the Midwest Internet Cooperative Exchange (MICE).
Cologix recently announced the renewal and extension of its relationship with the non-profit carrier neutral, layer 2 regional Internet exchange, providing open IP exchange among members in Minneapolis and across the Midwest. This interconnection provides customer with ample space, power and direct connectivity to 70+ carrier, ISP, and ASP networks as well as the MICE core switch in Cologix’s Minneapolis facility. MICE members include Internet Service Providers (ISP), Application Service Providers (ASP), carriers, cable companies, VoIP providers, government entities, academic institutions, and content providers.
“We believe that Minneapolis is a natural place to support the growth of a strong Internet, which is an important element of mature interconnection community,” stated Mike Hemphill, General Manager, Cologix Minneapolis. “Cologix believes that exchanges are best positioned for success when they are operated by independent, member driven organizations and are committed to support these models. MICE has established its roots in the Midwest internet community and is investing for significant growth. We are happy to continue to build our partnership.”
The relationship greatly enforces the overall missions of both organizations, improving Internet connectivity by reducing network latency, increasing performance, and reducing backhaul/ bandwidth costs by keeping Internet traffic local to the upper Midwest via a public peering fabric. Cologix’s Minneapolis facility is just one of 11 strategically-positioned US and Canada-based data centers, including Dallas, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
“We are happy with our partnership with Cologix and to be in a position where we can scale significantly within their facility at the 511 Building,” stated Jay Hanke, Steering Committee Member of MICE. “We have recently upgraded our equipment to accommodate increased member traffic and are in continuous discussions with new potential member peers who value the dense connectivity they can access through the Cologix Minnesota Gateway Meet-Me-Room.”
For more information about Cologix and its suite of network neutral interconnection colocation facilities, email mpls.sales@cologix.com or visit www.cologix.com.
