Equinix announces JINX, Johannesburg Internet Exchange

Equinix has announced that JINX, the Johannesburg Internet Exchange Point, will be available in its new JN1 International Business Exchange (IBX) data center at launch in mid 2024.

Established in June 1996, Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX) is Africa’s longest running exchange point, boasting a remarkable 100% uptime over its 27-year history. JINX, a community-run IXP operated by INX-ZA, is a nationally important aggregation platform where ISPs, local and global content, social media providers and e-commerce companies exchange South Africa’s Internet content.

JINX will be the first and foremost IXP (Internet Exchange Point) partner in Equinix’s brand-new carrier-neutral facility. It will provide public peering services to the many Internet connectivity and content providers hosted at Equinix in Johannesburg. The partnership of IXP and neutral colocation provider is a critically important feature of internet digital ecosystems hosted at Equinix facilities worldwide. JINX and Equinix partnership will support and accelerate growth, innovation and evolution of South Africa’s digital economy and e-GDP.

Equinix’s JN1 facility will also offer limitless options for service providers and enterprises wishing to build private, secure and performant digital infrastructure with local, regional or global scale, leveraging a full range of cloud and XaaS technologies.

“The carrier-neutral colocation model is globally recognized as the optimal environment for Internet services to flourish. Equinix has an outstanding reputation for championing growth of digital economies, hosting thousands of service providers and serving billions of internet users worldwide. We are thrilled to be launching our new node in Equinix JN1 Data center and we look forward to delivering on our shared vision, growing and evolving internet services in Johannesburg and South Africa together” said Prenesh Padayachee, the INX-ZA Chair.

Equinix recently announced Sandile Dube as its Managing Director in South Africa. Sandile joins from his previous role at HPE, where he was the Managing Director, and will work closely with both local businesses and multinational companies to establish a crucial interconnection platform in Equinix’s new JN1 International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in Johannesburg.

Sandile Dube, Managing Director for South Africa at Equinix, said: “We are delighted to welcome JINX on-board as a well-established and trusted partner that is firmly embedded in the connectivity fabric of South Africa. We will be launching with a remarkably strong partner base that includes some of the biggest cloud and connectivity companies in Africa, and JINX forms an integral part of that strategy. With its global presence across 32 countries, Equinix is an established and reliable partner that is committed to accelerating a digital Africa and keeping Africa’s rich and valuable data in Africa. Our partners will benefit from the knowledge and expertise of our global, and African, team of experts. We are looking forward to working closely with our launching partners to drive business across South Africa”.