Establishing an IXP
To help establish IXPs in developing countries where they do not exist, financial support may be available from appropriate development agencies or donors. The World Bank, and the Latin American Development Bank already have a track record in this area. Since the financial assistance needed for the start-up costs of an IXP are relatively modest compared with the potential long term economic benefits, a strong case can usually be made for development assistance.
As the majority of IXPs are non-profit facilities, financial aid can be seen to be assisting the growth of the market and not distorting its natural development. Thirdly as the majority of the expenditure is on the initial training of staff, to establish and maintain the facility, it meets the objective many donors have for local capacity building.
In fact the major problem with development finance can be the reverse – 'gold plating' the exchange with too much funding can make it less sustainable in the long run. At a minimum, the requirement to set up an IXP is around $100 for an Ethernet switch. Initially, everything else on top of that is “nice to have” and “gold-plating”.
