Alabama signals fertile ground for tech sector growth with new peering partner

Hurricane Electric, a global internet service provider considered a catalyst creating the “backbone” of the internet, announced it has established a Point of Presence (POP) in Montgomery, Alabama through its rapidly expanding internet exchange, the MGMix.

MGMix is an open internet exchange led by a collaboration among the City of Montgomery, Montgomery County, the Cyber College of the Air Force and Maxwell Gunter Air Force Base, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, and area research universities, co-located with an Akamai Technologies Edge Region, which is part of Akamai’s extensive content delivery network (CDN). While the PoP positions Hurricane to reap the benefits of the fertile tech ground emerging in Alabama, it also provides the infrastructure necessary for Montgomery to expand the city, state’s, military, and private sector’s current and future technology deployments, and is expected to have a positive economic impact worth billions of dollars.

“This is a huge milestone for the Montgomery Internet Exchange, giving Montgomery a connection to the largest Internet backbone in the world,” Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said. “This latest peering partner expands our global reach and puts our historic city on the map of global internet exchange points, while providing the infrastructure needed to attract new businesses, more job opportunities, and showcase Montgomery as a technology leader.”

Montgomery is on a rapid growth pace becoming a hub of internet, security and technology in the south. Hurricane Electric is the latest and largest partner to come into the area, expanding the opportunity for technological advancement. Continued collaborations will allow Montgomery to provide more services to businesses and attract new employers to the growing city. The added connectivity is another major benchmark in Montgomery’s rapid trajectory towards a smart city of the future, with MGMix playing a major role in the venture.

“Hurricane Electric is excited to extend its global network to Montgomery,” said President Mike Leber, Hurricane Electric. “The city is expanding, and its commitment to a high quality and secure internet infrastructure is unmatched. Montgomery has shown a growing demand for high-speed internet transit and we’re honored to provide it to the community.”

Located in the Retirement Systems of Alabama’s Dexter Avenue Datacenter, MGMix is a joint venture that will dramatically boost internet speeds for partnering Internet Service Providers, improve connectivity among Alabama’s research universities and colleges and expand data capacity. This environment is perfect for economic growth, especially large technology companies and government institutions to thrive. MGMix, announced just one year ago, is one of only four internet exchange points in the Southeast and the only internet exchange of its kind in Alabama

Visit www.mgmix.net to learn more about the MGMix, its members and capabilities.