AboveNet Completes Purchase of Palo Alto Internet Exchange.

AboveNet Communications Inc has received regulatory approval for its acquisition of the Palo Alto Internet Exchange (PAIX) from Compaq Computer Corp. Meanwhile, PAIX has announced plans to double the capacity of its Palo Alto facility. The expansion is already pre-sold to capacity, the company claims. Conceived in the Network System Laboratory of Digital Equipment Corp and founded in 1996, PAIX is the only major commercial internet exchange that is not owned by a telecommunications company.

It prides itself on maintaining a neutral business policy, whereby the ISPs co-located at its facility may peer privately or publicly with one another to relieve net congestion and speed traffic. PAIX also offers its customer ISPs a choice of telecommunications suppliers, giving them the freedom to negotiate favorable terms. Laura Hendrikson will become the general manager of PAIX, which will operate as a separate entity within AboveNet. PAIX will have its own board of directors and a technical advisory board led by Paul Vixie, who is, among other things, one of the founding architects of PAIX.