London Internet Exchange is planning to build a member-owned and operated internet exchange on the massive Ashburn, Virginia, data center campus of DuPont Fabros Technology – one of the largest wholesale data center developers and landlords in the US.

The European exchange's LINX NoVA node will be built at the ACC5 data center, establishing access from the campus to the 480 networks from around the world it connects. All five data centers on campus – where 26 network carriers are present – are interconnected by an underground conduit system.

Earlier this month, DuPont announced that it had joined Open-IX, a recently formed non-profit organization whose charge is to level the playing field for access to internet exchanges in the US, where the colocation company Equinix currently controls and sells access to nearly all key exchanges.

Member-supported Open-IX plans to certify exchanges and data center operators that host them if they satisfy the organization's requirements. The non-profit has yet to publicize its requirements for exchanges and operators.

DuPont said its deal with LINX (expected to launch before the end of 2013) is in line with its Open-IX commitments. The developer currently plans to establish certified exchanges in four of the markets it has data centers in.

The deal is a step forward for LINX NoVA, the European exchange's program to launch an open peering exchange in North America. The plan is for NoVA to be closely aligned with and endorsed by Open-IX.

John Souter, CEO of LINX, said Ashburn had been high on the list of potential sites for the NoVA project. “We are pleased to be partnering with DFT to build a LINX node in their Ashburn campus, which will contribute significantly to the number of networks able to join the LINX NoVA exchange.”

To encourage its members to connect at the NoVA exchange, LINX is offering free 100Mb, 1GbE and 10GbE ports for 18 months from the day the exchange goes live.

DuPont's competitors Digital Realty Trust and CyrusOne are also actively involved with Open-IX.