We built packet:IX because we believe critical internet infrastructure should serve the community — not shareholders.
For a country as digitally advanced as Korea, the domestic internet has a structural problem: traffic between Korean networks often takes unnecessarily long paths — sometimes transiting through overseas infrastructure and back — because direct exchange points are either unavailable, inaccessible to smaller networks, or controlled by commercially-motivated entities.
The result is higher latency, unnecessary cost, and internet infrastructure that serves the interests of large incumbents rather than the broader network community.
We started packet:IX to fix this. Not as a business looking for a market opportunity — but as network operators who were frustrated by the problem and decided to build the solution ourselves.
What happens when an IXP is commercial?
A commercial IXP has a fiduciary obligation to generate profit. This creates pressure to maximise revenue from members, restrict access to protect pricing power, and make infrastructure decisions that serve the bottom line. The IXP's interests and the network community's interests diverge.
Why does that matter for members?
It means you pay more than you should. It means access is gatekept behind revenue requirements that favour large networks. It means the exchange point is a toll booth, not a public good. Every member subsidises someone else's profit margin.
How does non-profit change this?
When there are no shareholders to pay, every fee you contribute goes directly into the infrastructure you use. Pricing is set to cover costs, not to extract value. Decisions are made by the community for the community. The exchange point exists to serve the network — full stop.
Is this model sustainable?
Sustainably funded through membership fees and sponsorships, with no profit extraction. Our financials are published annually. We invest in infrastructure, not dividends. The non-profit model is not a compromise — it is the right architecture for critical shared infrastructure.
"The internet works best when the infrastructure that connects networks exists for those networks — not for the profit of a third party standing between them."
— packet:IX founding principle
These are not marketing language. They are the principles that guide every decision we make — from pricing to governance to infrastructure investment.
Any network holding a valid ASN can join. No traffic minimums, no revenue thresholds, no gatekeeping. The internet should be accessible to everyone who wants to participate — from a small hosting provider to a national ISP.
Our financials, policies, and routing data are published openly. Members and the public can see exactly how fees are spent, how decisions are made, and where traffic flows. There are no hidden agendas.
packet:IX is governed by its members. Major decisions — from pricing to infrastructure investment — are made with community input. No single organisation or individual has disproportionate control.
We treat every member equally. No preferential treatment based on size, revenue, or commercial relationship. Every network on our fabric has the same access to the same infrastructure.
We think in decades, not quarters. Infrastructure decisions are made for long-term reliability and expansion — not to hit short-term financial targets. The internet is critical infrastructure and deserves that level of care.
We keep the cost of peering as low as possible. Remote peering options, minimal technical requirements, and clear documentation exist because we believe the barrier to better connectivity should be as low as possible.
packet:IX is in its early stages. But our ambition is clear: to become the default, open interconnection fabric for Korean networks — and to demonstrate that non-profit infrastructure can outperform commercial alternatives on every metric that actually matters.
Establish packet:IX as the open peering point of choice for Korean networks of all sizes — from startups to national operators.
Expand our fabric across additional Seoul facilities and introduce new services like route server communities and looking glass tools.
Demonstrate that community-governed, non-profit internet infrastructure can meaningfully improve connectivity quality and cost across Korea — and inspire similar efforts elsewhere.
Join packet:IX as a member, become a sponsor, or just reach out. The more networks participate, the stronger the community becomes.