Jun, 2001 : BellSouth Lights Fastest US Internet Data Exchange

📅 June 26, 2001 - BellSouth (bellsouth.com) announced on Tuesday that it is "lighting up" the BellSouth Multimedia Internet Exchange (bellsouthmix.com) with the availability of the new Internet data exchange service in South Florida.

The BellSouth MIX represents the most advanced optically switched network access point in the country, and, according to the company, will greatly improve the transmission and exchange of Internet data between major Internet service providers, backbone carriers and international access facilities located in the region.
BellSouth says its MIX provides a carrier-neutral foundation for a next generation Internet infrastructure supporting the bandwidth needs of Internet services companies and emerging broadband product offerings, and establishes a beachhead for Internet development.
The BellSouth MIX features a unique, wide area metropolitan network architecture comprised of four major access facilities located in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties. These multiple facilities will allow businesses to choose where they wish to locate instead of requiring them to select a location within close proximity to a single connection point. Some NAPs consist of only one central location requiring users to pay for costly back-hauling of data traffic to these facilities.
"We're taking the BellSouth MIX to our customers by giving businesses the option to establish Internet connectivity at any of four node locations," said Ralph de la Vega, BellSouth's president of Broadband and Internet Services. "This design makes it easier, more convenient and cost effective for them while at the same time spreading the economic impact of technology development throughout a three-county, metropolitan Miami area. We believe our approach will further the `Internet Coast' vision that we've all shared for South Florida, establishing a reliable and secure foundation for Internet growth and development today and well into the future."
"BellSouth has the most technologically advanced network in the world," added Bill Smith, Chief Technology Officer for BellSouth. "This is due in part to our early adoption of fiber technology and a dedication to creating a first-class fiber infrastructure. The BellSouth MIX is another example of this commitment. BellSouth is poised with the high-performance/high-bandwidth infrastructure and the know-how in leveraging it to be responsive to virtually all market developments and any customer requirements."
The MIX was built to help enhance services from area hosting, Application Service Provider and co-locations businesses. Each access facility is housed in commercial locations where large concentrations of Internet-related and high-technology companies are based. This ensures easy and open access to the BellSouth MIX within the tri-county area.
The company also ways its exchange is the first Internet exchange in the US to use intelligent optical switching in its core network, providing fast data transmission, from DS-3 to OC-192, virtually unlimited bandwidth on demand, and customer-managed service provisioning. BellSouth has worked with Cisco Systems and Sycamore Networks to build a broadband optical switching network that can easily scale and evolve in bandwidth and functionality as customers need.