AIX - Alaska Peering Exchange

The Alaska Peering Exchange (AIX) is a pioneering initiative by NOAA's N-Wave program, designed to enhance data exchange efficiency within Alaska. Situated in Anchorage, AIX serves as a voluntary local exchange point, enabling direct interconnections between government, research, education networks, Internet service providers (ISPs), and private enterprises. This direct link, known as peering, ensures that data traffic destined for Alaska remains within the state, significantly reducing latency and costs associated with routing data through external locations like Seattle.

AIX is particularly crucial for Alaska, where rapid weather changes can have significant impacts on safety and property. By keeping data local, AIX facilitates timely and efficient dissemination of essential information, supporting various sectors such as weather forecasting, climate monitoring, fisheries management, and marine commerce.

The exchange is physically located at the ACS North Wire Center in Anchorage, chosen for its proximity to the N-Wave Alaska core and the future NOAA Trusted Internet Connection Access Provider service (TICAP). This strategic location optimizes data ingress and egress for N-Wave federal customers.