Underground data center owner Bluebird Network has announced the creation of the Springfield Internet Exchange (SpringIX) located in Springfield, Missouri.

Hosted in its underground facility in Springfield, the IX allows Bluebird customers to cross-connect with one another for free.

Routed to the mine

“After finishing our 61-mile expansion in Springfield earlier this year, we have a strong presence in the Ozarks and are dedicated to serving as a partner to organizations in the region," said Michael Morey, President and CEO of Bluebird. "There are numerous companies in the region that will really benefit from a service like this, and we are proud to support them by hosting this Internet exchange.”

In January 2020, Bluebird finished linking 61 miles (98km) of fiber to its data center, upping Bluebird’s cable infrastructure to 9,800 fiber route miles of high-speed broadband and fiber-optic connections with over 54,000 on-net and near-net buildings. The company also has 151 PoP sites spanning the Midwest, in cities like Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield (MO and IL), Tulsa, Peoria, Rockford, Bloomington.

To open SpringIX, Bluebird Network partnered with the Kansas City Internet Exchange, which provides a physical ethernet switched infrastructure to ISPs and businesses to exchange traffic. The IX features no recurring charge to connect to but customers may incur costs if they interconnect to third parties.

Aaron Wendel, executive director of the Kansas City Internet Exchange (KCiX), said: “There are many advantages to being part of an Internet exchange. It’s really a great way to make Internet services stronger in a given metro area. Members of this Internet exchange will have free access to content from other members of the SpringIX as well as the KCiX customers in Kansas City. It’s quite an opportunity to connect to and share those kinds of eyeballs with your network.”