Internet Exchanges in Illinois

An Internet Exchange (IX) is where multiple networks connect to exchange traffic directly, rather than routing through third parties. This reduces costs, improves performance, and lowers latency for end users.

IXs are typically housed in carrier-neutral data centers where no single network has control, creating a level playing field for all participants. Networks connect via switches and exchange traffic through peering agreements. A single IX may have a physical presence in multiple facilities across a state or region.

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IX infrastructure data on this page is sourced from PeeringDB, a freely available database of networks and interconnection facilities maintained by the global network operator community. PeeringDB data is self-reported by network operators and facility owners.

Broadband performance data (download speed, upload speed, and latency) is sourced from Speedtest® by Ookla® open data, aggregated quarterly at the state level.

As of the latest data, Illinois has 18 Internet Exchanges present across 27 facilities, with 523 unique networks physically connected.

These numbers are updated monthly from PeeringDB. See the chart above for historical trends.

The physical location of Internet Exchanges directly impacts network performance, cost, and resilience for users and businesses in Illinois:

• Latency: Local IXs keep Illinois traffic local, reducing round-trip times
• Cost: Direct peering at local IXs reduces transit costs for Illinois ISPs
• Resilience: Multiple local interconnection points prevent single points of failure
• Economic development: IXs attract network investment, data centers, and digital businesses to Illinois

Without local IXs, Illinois traffic may be "tromboned" through distant cities, adding latency and cost.

Real-time inference and edge inference workloads require the lowest possible latency to deliver instant responses. Internet exchanges provide direct peering between networks, minimizing the number of network hops and reducing round-trip time.

This is critical for real-time inference applications like conversational AI and autonomous vehicles, as well as edge inference deployments that process data closer to end users rather than in centralized cloud data centers.

The average fixed broadband latency in Illinois is currently 15 ms, based on Speedtest® by Ookla® open data. Latency measures the round-trip time for data to travel between a user and a server. Lower values mean faster, more responsive connections.

States with more Internet Exchanges tend to have lower latency because traffic can be exchanged locally rather than being routed through distant cities. See the chart above for Illinois's historical latency trend alongside IX growth.

Illinois has Internet Exchange presence in 10 cities: Aurora, Chicago, Elk Grove Village, Franklin Park, Itasca, Lisle, Lombard, Oak Brook, Peoria, Wood Dale.

Each city page shows which networks are physically present and which additional networks become virtually accessible through IX peering. See the cities list above for links to detailed data.

Illinois is home to 18 Internet Exchanges, including: Equinix Chicago, NetIX, STLIX, DE-CIX Chicago, ChIX, QCIX, JumboIX Peru, Any2Chicago, MegaIX Chicago, AMS-IX Chicago, Global Peer Exchange, DACS-IX Central, Digital Realty Chicago, Chicago Open Pipes, FD-IX - Chicago, BBIX Chicago, GCIIX, CyrusOne IX Chicago. Each IX enables networks to peer directly, reducing latency and transit costs.

Illinois currently has 18 Internet Exchanges. Here's how neighboring states compare:

• Missouri: 18 IXs, 17 ms avg latency
• Indiana: 4 IXs, 19 ms avg latency
• Iowa: 4 IXs, 17 ms avg latency
• Kentucky: 3 IXs, 20 ms avg latency
• Wisconsin: 2 IXs, 20 ms avg latency

See the neighboring states section for links to each state's full IX data page.