Narayan AmmachchiCaribbean IXP has unveiled plans to build a data center hosting facility at the Tamana Industrial Park in Trinidad & Tobago.
Once built, the Tier III facility will closely resemble Verizon’s Network Exchange Point (NEP) data center in Miami, Florida, which serves as a backbone access to 160 global carriers. But unlike Verizon’s, this facility, with pools of computing sources, will cater only to data centers.
Access to low-cost energy and multiple submarine cable systems were the factors that persuaded IXP to choose the twin-island country. Trinidad & Tobago is also attractive because it sits away from the Caribbean’s hurricane path.
According to the company’s press release, the facility will offer data center hosting services on a scale suitable for technology businesses. Local papers say at least two companies – a telecom operator and an IT consulting services provider – have already signed up to use the data center.
“About US$40 million will be invested in the project,” says Girish Pathak, founder and CEO of Carribbean IXP, which is backed by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), the Caribbean Network Operators Group and the Packet Clearing House, as well as a U.S.-based investment company.
The data center will provide managed hosting, security, disaster recovery, collocation, peering, and cloud computing services—all with seamless carrier-neutral connectivity. Furthermore, employees there will offer technical support for companies that host their servers.
“This will cater to the demands of large enterprises in the area, as well as local and national government organizations and IT service providers,” says IXP. A US-based engineering firm has designed the data center, which will be quake-proof.
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