News / May 28, 2013

IX Reach Attends International Telecoms Week 2013

May 2013: In the telecommunication industry there is one main event that industry folk await with baited breath for every May: International Telecoms Week. International Telecoms Week, or ITW, is one of the biggest events in the telco calendar and with the attendee total reaching over 5,500 from a wide range of data networks, VoIP platforms, hardware and software backgrounds, it’s easy to see why it has become a central selling and networking hub for the industry. For the second time in as many years, IX Reach exhibited at ITW in order to expose and build the brand and expand on the solid reputation it has developed in Europe as a leading international connectivity provider, colocation experts and remote peering specialists in the States.

 (L-R: The IX Reach ITW Team – John Hill, Rebecca Stani?, Ben Nicklin, Ruth Plater, Elaine Dixon and Steve Wilcox) The four day event started on Sunday 12th May with the opening Keynote speech delivered by former US Vice President Al Gore highlighting the global optimism for wholesale telecommunications and generally a very positive message for the industry. For IX Reach, ITW occurred at a very interesting time for the company; the datamena data centre in Dubai had just been announced as a PoP (Point of Presence), they had added UAE-IX to its list of partners and had become one of the first carriers to offer simplified and seamless international connectivity to its global footprint for datamena customers and enterprises in the Middle East. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were packed with meetings, networking events and socials creating a very busy agenda for the six IX Reach team members that attended the Chicago based event.

(L-R: Inja Schneider – Telehouse, Ruth Plater, Ben Nicklin and John Hill all IX Reach) Wednesday morning got off to an energetic start with John, Ben and Ruth taking part in the ITW 5km Charity run along the lakefront in the Windy City. All money raised went towards Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF), a leading non-profit emergency telecommunications charity; TSF set up critical communications facilities in conflict and natural disaster zones around the world within 24 hours of a catastrophe, allowing supplies and aid to reach those who desperately need it. IX Reach would like to thank all the organisers, sponsors and attendees for making ITW an interesting, insightful and successful event. A special thank you also goes out to our Internet Exchange partners present at ITW: AMS-IX, DE-CIX, LINX, and Netnod, and our data centre partners: CoreSite, Equinix, Interxion, TelecityGroup, Telehouse, and Telx (TIE). Alexandre Pébereau,  Chairman of the ITW Founders’ Council, spoke regarding ITW 2013 and commented “We leave Chicago with a renewed sense of collective purpose and vigor for leading the global wholesale industry forward.” He continued, “I am encouraged by the spirit, energy and enthusiasm that were on display here last week.”