IXSA

The primary purpose of an IXSA is to allow networks to interconnect directly, via the exchange, rather than through one or more 3rd party networks. The advantages of the direct interconnection are numerous, but the primary reasons are cost, latency, and bandwidth. Traffic passing through an exchange is typically not billed by any party, whereas traffic to an ISP's upstream provider is. The direct interconnection, often located in the same country as both networks, avoids the need for data to travel to other cities (potentially on other continents) to get from one network to another, thus reducing latency. The third advantage, speed, is most noticeable in areas that have poorly developed long-distance connections.