Sparkle Partners with Ge-DIX Consortium for an IXP at Genoa

Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, has reached an agreement with Ge-DIX (Genoa Data Internet eXchange), a non-profit consortium of interconnection services, to establish an Internet Exchange Point (IXP) at Sparkle's "Genoa Digital Hub" data center, thus creating a new digital ecosystem in the Ligurian capital.

Ge-DIX was founded by the Municipality of Genoa and Liguria Digitale - in a consortium with Piedmont-based Internet Exchange TOP-IX and TLC companies BBBell, Fastweb, Retelit Irideos and Rocket Way - with the goal of creating a preferred data traffic exchange for Internet service providers. Through a physical network access point, leading local, national, and international ISPs (who land their Internet networks in Genoa) can interconnect directly with each other and exchange traffic with the content and application providers in the facility, benefiting the Internet experience of local businesses and consumers.

With this agreement, Ge-DIX establishes an Internet Exchange Point in Sparkle’s Genova Digital Hub in Lagaccio, an open and neutral colocation facility, as well as a new interconnection point for international terrestrial networks and submarine cables including Blue & Raman Submarine Cable Systems - which will connect Milan and Marseille via Genoa to East Africa, the Middle East and India - and to the associated BlueMed system with its branches in the Mediterranean - Marseille, Bastia, Golfo Aranci, Pomezia, Palermo, Chania and Tel Aviv.

The Genova Digital Hub is also set for significant growth thanks to the Genova Landing Platform, an infrastructure designed to accommodate, in addition to BlueRaman and BlueMed, the sustainable landing of up to six new cables seeking diversified access to major European hubs, with massive growth potential for transit and exchange traffic. In addition, operators and ISPs already members of Ge-DIX or present in the area will benefit from the global connectivity offered by Sparkle’s network through Seabone IP transit service and City2City capacity solutions.

“The agreement between Ge-DIX and Sparkle takes on great importance in the digital transformation process of Genoa and Liguria,” says Luca Beltramino, chairman of Ge-DIX. “Thanks to this additional strategic location, Ge-DIX will be at the center of innovation and connectivity, strengthening Genoa's position as a technology hub of international significance”.

“The presence of Ge-DIX in our Genoa Digital Hub is an important piece in building a new digital ecosystem in the Ligurian capital”, says Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle. “Having contributed with our infrastructure to this development makes us very proud and we are grateful to the city of Genoa for welcoming and sharing our vision”.