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 The
idea to connect all the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the Philippines
through a common backbone or Internet exchange was first suggested in mid-1995
during the Internet Society (ISOC)-sponsored Internet Workshop held in
Hawaii. The concept takes into consideration the experience of other countries,
particularly the US, where the necessity to establish the network for an
Internet eXchange (IX) was triggered by the explosive growth of the Internet
in the last two years, both from the commercial and non-commercial fronts.
An Internet eXchange (IX) is an interconnection or access point that allows ISPs to exchange local traffic in a given geographic area. In most cases, local Internet traffic within a country or a city may have to be routed through the host server located either in the USA or another country. This is highly undesirable specially to small ISPs considering that with the expensive cost of international leased circuits, they can only afford a relatively low bandwith that can not accommodate a rapid growth in user traffic. In essence, the introduction of an IX is a measure that will sustain growth, increase efficiency in routing and improve the general connectivity of local Internet users to access content and the delivery of information. In the Philippines, although the Internet is still acknowledged to be in its infancy, the Internet business has changed dramatically since 1995. With more ISPs entering the business, now numbering more than 120, an efficient network infrastructure is urgently needed in the immediate future to lower the cost of operations through savings in international bandwidth acquisition. In anticipation of this need, various groups have signified their intention to establish an IX. Although these groups earnestly wanted to see the IX up, the fact that they are all competing ISPs made the concept a hardsell. When PLDT 's support was sought, it immediately responded by initiating the establishment of the very first IX in the country in its desire to proactively participate in Philippines Internet growth. In August 1995, exploratory discussions started within PLDT on the setting-up of the infrastructure for an Intenet hub (initially conceived as the Metro Manila - Media Access Point). The hubbing concept got a big boost in April 1996 when PLDT, through its New Ventures Development Division, proceeded with its evaluation. In May 1996 the company decided to proceed with the network access point project, to be called the Philippine Internet eXchange (PhIX). On 29 October 1996, PLDT formally presented its PhIX project to the 15 local ISPs which have their own gateway connections to other countries. Of the 15 ISPs who attended PLDT's presentation, the 5 largest ISPs signified their intention to join the PhIX project by signing the Multi-Lateral Peering Agreement last 19 November 1996, namely: Infocom, IPhil, Moscom, Virtualink and WorldTel Phil. The pilot operation of the PhIX was
started in January 1997 and was completed in June 1997, and since then
the 5 pioneering ISP's have successfully been exchanging Philippine-Centric
New World Hotel on July 3, 1997.
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