While everyone (in the US) enjoys the long Independence Day weekend, here’s a quick look at an interesting item I missed from ITW week. A new organization aiming to stimulate the growth of new regional internet hubs around the world, the Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC). The idea is to replicate the multilateral cooperation between industry participants and local municipalities, academic institutions, and regional business interests.
The founding members hail from all corners of the infrastructure ecosystem: Google, QTS, Telxius, Hilton, Cigna, Bank of America, Freddie Mac, Telia Carrier, Ciena, Blade Group, CenturyLink, and InterGlobix. Examples of the rising infrastructure nexuses that they would like to replicate include Marseilles, Hillsboro, and of course Ashburn. A more recent project of many in that group of course is Richmond and Henrico County, which are looking to leverage the new cable landings in Virginia Beach to launch a regional internet infrastructure bloom.