The France-IX Association

A word from the Chairman

For a long time, the sole aim of the Association France-IX was to support the IXP FranceIX, through its shareholding in France-IX Service (see FranceIX), which is now France's largest IXP.

Since 2022, the Board of Directors, which I chair, has been keen to breathe new life into the Association by developing new activities. Many of these activities were also supported by Rezopole in Lyon, a structure that I ran with Samuel Triolet for over 10 years. Samuel Triolet has now been appointed Managing Director of our Association.

We will be focusing our activities primarily on members and future members:

Promoting the member community by organising events designed to facilitate active networking between members.
Organisation of technical workshops on topics of interest relating to peering, BGP and, more generally, data interconnection.

The second objective is to promote IXP and interconnection activities.

We will be careful not to be equated with a trade union.

Maintaining transparency seems to us to be part of the basic doctrine of an association, particularly when it involves competing structures of all sizes and national origins acting in concert.

You can count on the 2022-2023 Board of Directors to represent you and listen to your needs.

Chairman of
France-IX Association

Philippe Duby

A little history

France-IX Association is a non-profit association under the French law of 1901, founded in 2010 by a group of major players in the digital sector in France. In 2021, France-IX will merge with Rezopole, another association founded in 2001 in Lyon.

The objective of these two structures was the same: to facilitate data exchanges and transfers, by setting up an IXP to enable data flows to remain local, which brings a large number of technical, financial and economic advantages.

To achieve this objective, France-IX Association created SAS France-IX Services, which operates the neutral and open Internet Exchange Point (IXP) located in Lille, Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble and Toulouse. IXPs enable digital players to connect directly to each other, without going through an intermediary, thereby improving the performance, security and efficiency of the Internet network.

In addition to managing the FranceIX IXP via its subsidiary France-IX Services SAS, the France-IX Association also carries out activities to raise awareness and promote the neutral and open Internet. It organises events, makes resources available to its members, and will participate in international working groups.

The France-IX / Rezopole merger

Rezopole and France-IX, two of France's leading Internet exchange points, merged on 1 January 2021. This merger has confirmed FranceIX as the largest IXP in France.

Rezopole managed LyonIX, the largest regional IXP in France, with traffic of 80 Gbps in 2020 and 100 members. FranceIX, on the other hand, already had traffic of over 1 Tbs and more than 400 members. The merger of these two IXPs has created a new IXP spread over 5 cities (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble and Toulouse) that is as close as possible to those connected in the regions. FranceIX traffic is now close to 3 Tbs (November 2023).

This merger was good news for the French Internet ecosystem. It strengthened connectivity between the various Internet networks in France and contributed to the country's digital sovereignty.

The main advantages of this merger between Rezopole and France-IX are as follows:

Enhanced connectivity between Internet networks in France: the merger has made it possible to combine the resources of the two IXPs, increasing the capacity for traffic exchange between the various stakeholders in the French Internet ecosystem.
Contributing to the country's digital sovereignty: the merger will create a larger, more resilient IXP, helping to strengthen the country's digital sovereignty.
Improved efficiency and reliability of Internet traffic: the merger has reduced the number of network trunks needed to carry Internet traffic, improving efficiency and reliability.
Avoid competition between two French associations.

Why join?

Any private or public organisation, French or foreign, can join the France-IX Association. It is not necessary to be connected to the IXP FranceIX (managed by France-IX Services SASU, of which the association is the sole shareholder) to join the Association.

By joining the France-IX Association, you can get actively involved, influence decisions through your votes, benefit from training resources and networking, and work together for the common good of the peering and interconnection ecosystem in France.

The current members are: French or foreign, local, national or international, Internet service providers, dark fibre operators (CLECs), hosting companies, datacenters, cloud providers, IT services companies, SSLLs, network integrators, public structures, private companies (non Internet professionals), CDNs, major international players, network security players and Internet security players in particular.

Benefits for your organisation

You will be represented and will be able to vote at General Meetings, influencing the decisions, strategic directions and policies pursued by the Association.

You'll benefit from technical workshops and training, and can keep your teams aligned with best practice, industry trends and technological developments.

You'll benefit from France-IX's human network. Networking, professional relations, sharing of experience and collaboration with other members, whether they are larger or smaller than your organisation.

In addition to the technical aspects, the association and its members informally offer assistance on issues such as contractual, commercial or organisational aspects. Information sharing really comes into its own, even in an association that tends to bring together competitors.

By bringing together players from different backgrounds, the association creates a genuine community, encouraging cooperation and collaboration between members.

Individual memberships are not possible, but we are working on this for the 2023-2024 term.