Proximity Data Centres, the UK's fastest-growing edge colocation data centre provider, has announced IX Birmingham, the first regional internet exchange in the heart of the West Midlands.

Securely located at Proximity's Birmingham Edge 8 tier 3 data centre, IX Birmingham will allow businesses across the city and local region to access higher-speed, lower latency connectivity options. In addition, it will eliminate the need to route all their data via exchanges in London and Manchester, as local data stays local. In contrast, other data can be accessed through traditional centralised internet exchanges.

“I have long pushed for the establishment of an Internet Exchange in Birmingham, recognising that it is a key component of the digital infrastructure that our businesses need to create and accelerate new products and services. The IX Birmingham will greatly enhance the capability of the city as a leading international digital city and its reputation as Digital Birmingham,” says Raj Mack, head of digital city and innovation at the Birmingham City Council.

“The Council welcomes this exciting initiative, which is line with our vision for creating new innovative opportunities that maximise the use of digital technologies and the skills and capabilities of our citizens and local businesses. Working closely with Proximity’s Edge IX division, we aim to ensure digital businesses including those in the creative, healthcare and manufacturing industries are no longer disadvantaged by the absence of an internet exchange on their doorstep,” adds Peter Bishop, director for digital and customer services at the Birmingham City Council.

“The arrival of IX Birmingham is not only good news for businesses based in the city and wider region, it also allows local altnets and ISPs to benefit from lower cost data transit when backhauling rapidly growing data volumes. We are delighted to be a founder member and look forward to being a part of stimulating the local digital economy,” notes Tobias Hooten, managing director of Iconic Networks, a founding member of IX Birmingham.

“Glide’s lowest latency partnership at Proximity’s Edge IX demonstrates our commitment to innovation across Birmingham and our wider UK fibre city rollout,” adds Sean Lowry, chief technology officer at Glide Networks.

“We selected Birmingham as our first Edge IX location, as the region’s digital community has remained underserved when it comes to the lowest latency solutions possible for sending or receiving data. We are looking forward to delivering similar benefits to other regions of the UK and Europe during this year and in 2024,” comments John Hall, managing director (colocation) at Proximity Data Centres.

IX Birmingham is aligned with Proximity's strategy of rolling out a network of regional internet exchanges within its data centres across the UK and Europe. Currently, there are 10 Proximity edge data centres in the UK, strategically located to conurbations and cities in the North, Northwest, Midlands, Thames Valley, Southwest and South Wales.