similar organisations through switches which are housed in six colocation
facilities in London linked by dedicated fibre optic cables. It is a
mutual organisation, owned by the more than 170 ISPs and content service
delivery providers which have connections there.
LINX has cut the costs of key connection facilities – 1 gigabit and 10
gigabit Ethernet ports on its switches – by 15 per cent.
In an email to members LINX chief executive John Souter says: “This
follows an internal review of our financial situation which shows that we
are ahead of budget at present, due in part to the fact that we are growing
faster than the assumptions made in the summer of 2004.
“The board considers that we are in a strong position, with good reserves
and better than expected growth. As a mutual association, we should reduce
prices whenever a suitable opportunity presents itself.”
Peering (the connection of networks to allow traffic to move from one to
another) is a significant expense for ISPs.
LINX sales and marketing manager Vanessa Evans said: “LINX’s lower pricing
comes at a time when many ISPs are seeking to attract new customers through
lower prices for broadband services. It offers them an opportunity to cut
costs in an increasingly price-competitive market for end users.”
Internet traffic at LINX is now over 82 gigabits per second at peak times –
more than 33 per cent higher than at the same time last year – and LINX’s
membership has grown by more than 20 per cent over the same period to a
total of 180 organisations.
Earlier this year (February 2005) members at LINX’s annual general meeting
were told that, despite cuts in LINX’s membership fees and prices for its
services in 2004 and expenditure of more than 700,000 on new equipment,
the organisation was able to increase its reserves to around 2.7 million.
