The FRNIX Association

A word from the Chairman

Philippe Duby

Chairman of FRNIX Association

FRNIX leads the peering and interconnection community in France. It is the result of the merger of two associations: France IX Association and Rezopole. Each of these organisations existed to support an IXP, and the two are now combined in FRNIX.

Since 2022, the Board of Directors, which I chair, has sought to breathe new life into the Association by developing new activities. In particular, we have taken over some of the community services that made Rezopole such a success in Lyon. But the principle from now on is to be at the service of the whole community at national level, and to focus on running the community. Samuel Triolet, with whom I founded Rezopole, has agreed to become the Managing Director, and I'd like to thank him for bringing us his wealth of experience.

We focus our activities mainly on members and future members:,FRNIX is an association under the French law of 1901, resulting from the merger of two structures:,France IX Association, founded in 2010 by a group of players who wanted to create an IXP in Paris and France and had delegated this role to France IX Services SASU with the IXP FranceIX..,Rezopole, another association, was founded in 2001 in Lyon and had set up IXPs in other cities (Lyon Grenoble Annecy). The objective of these two structures was the same: to facilitate data exchanges and transfers, by setting up an IXP to enable data flows to remain local, which brings a large number of technical, financial and economic advantages,To achieve this objective, France-IX Services SAS has created and operates the FranceIX Internet Exchange Point (IXP) with POPs in Lille, Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble and Toulouse. IXPs enable digital players to connect directly to each other, without going through an intermediary, thereby improving the performance, security and efficiency of the Internet network. In addition to managing the FranceIX IXP via its subsidiary France-IX Services SAS, FRNIX also carries out activities to raise awareness and promote the neutral and open Internet. It organises events, makes resources available to its members and participates in mainly national working groups,Rezopole managed LyonIX, the largest regional IXP in France, with traffic expected to reach 80 Gbps by 2020 and 100 members connected. FranceIX, for its part, already had traffic of over 1 Tbs and more than 400 members. The merger of these two IXPs has created a new IXP spread over 5 cities (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble and Toulouse) that is as close as possible to the people connected in the regions. FranceIX's traffic is now close to 3 Tbs (November 2023). Any private or public organisation, French or foreign, can join FRNIX. It is not necessary to be connected to the FranceIX IXP (managed by France-IX Services SASU, of which the association is the sole shareholder) to join the Association.,By joining FRNIX, you can become actively involved, influence decisions through your votes, benefit from training resources, networking, and collaborate for the common good of the peering and interconnection ecosystem in France.,You will benefit from the human network of FRNIX. Networking, professional relationships, sharing experiences and collaboration with other members, whether they are larger or smaller than your structure.

Promoting the member community by organising events designed to facilitate active networking between members.
Organisation of technical workshops on topics of interest relating to peering, BGP and, more generally, data interconnection.

Our aim is to bring together in our community all the players in the field of Internet interconnection in France, whether you are an IXP, an operator, a content provider, a network integrator, an equipment manufacturer, a company or a local authority, or more broadly any player who feels close to our purpose.

We will be careful not to be equated with a trade union.

Maintaining transparency seems to us to be part of the basic doctrine of an association, particularly when it involves competing structures of all sizes and national origins acting in concert.

You can count on the Board of Directors to represent you and listen to your needs.

A little history

FRNIX est une association loi 1901 issue de la fusion de deux structures :

France IX Association, fondée en 2010 par un groupe d’acteurs qui souhaitaient créer un IXP à Paris et en France et avait déléguer ce rôle à France IX Services SASU avec l’IXP FranceIX.
Rezopole, une autre association, créée en 2001 à Lyon et avait mis en place des IXP autre de cette ville (Lyon Grenoble Annecy)

L’objectif de ces deux structures était le même : faciliter les échanges et transferts de données, par la mise en place d’un IXP pour permettre aux flux e données de rester locaux, ce qui amène un grand nombre d’avantages techniques, financier et d’environnement économique.

Pour atteindre cet objectif, la SAS France-IX Services a créée et exploite le point d’échange Internet (IXP) FranceIX avec des POPs à Lille, Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble et Toulouse.

Les IXP permettent aux acteurs du numérique de se connecter directement entre eux, sans passer par un intermédiaire, ce qui permet d’améliorer la performance, la sécurité et l’efficacité du réseau Internet.

En plus de gérer l’IXP FranceIX via sa filiale France-IX Services SAS, FRNIX mène également des activités de sensibilisation et de promotion de l’Internet neutre et ouvert. Elle organise des événements, met des ressources à disposition de ses membres, et participe à des groupes de travail nationaux principalement.

The France-IX / Rezopole merger

Rezopole and France-IX, two of France's leading Internet exchange points, merged on 1 January 2021. This merger has confirmed FranceIX as the largest IXP in France.

Rezopole gérait LyonIX, le plus grand IXP régional en France, avec un trafic de 80 Gbps en 2020 et 100 membres connectés. FranceIX de son côté avait déjà un trafic de plus de 1 Tbs et plus de 400 membres. La fusion de ces deux IXP a permis de créer un nouvel IXP réparti sur 5 villes (Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Grenoble, Toulouse) au plus proche des connectés en régions. Le trafic de FranceIX est désormais de près de 3 Tbs (Novembre 2023).

This merger was good news for the French Internet ecosystem. It strengthened connectivity between the various Internet networks in France and contributed to the country's digital sovereignty.

The main advantages of this merger between Rezopole and France-IX are as follows:

Enhanced connectivity between Internet networks in France: the merger has made it possible to combine the resources of the two IXPs, increasing the capacity for traffic exchange between the various stakeholders in the French Internet ecosystem.
Contributing to the country's digital sovereignty: the merger will create a larger, more resilient IXP, helping to strengthen the country's digital sovereignty.
Improved efficiency and reliability of Internet traffic: the merger has reduced the number of network trunks needed to carry Internet traffic, improving efficiency and reliability.
Avoid competition between two French associations.

Why join?

Any private or public organisation, French or foreign, can join FRNIX. It is not necessary to be connected to the IXP FranceIX (managed by France-IX Services SASU, of which the association is the sole shareholder) to join the Association.

En adhérant à FRNIX, vous pouvez vous engager activement, influencer les décisions par vos votes, bénéficier de ressources de formation, du réseautage, et collaborer pour le bien commun de l’écosystème du peering et de l’interconnexion en France.

The current members are: French or foreign, local, national or international, Internet service providers, dark fibre operators (CLECs), hosting companies, datacenters, cloud providers, IT services companies, SSLLs, network integrators, public structures, private companies (non Internet professionals), CDNs, major international players, network security players and Internet security players in particular.

Benefits for your organisation

You will be represented and will be able to vote at General Meetings, influencing the decisions, strategic directions and policies pursued by the Association.

You'll benefit from technical workshops and training, and can keep your teams aligned with best practice, industry trends and technological developments.

Vous profiterez du réseau humain de FRNIX. Réseautage, relations professionnelles, partage d’expériences et de collaboration avec les autres membres qu’ils soient plus gros ou plus petits que votre structure.

In addition to the technical aspects, the association and its members informally offer assistance on issues such as contractual, commercial or organisational aspects. Information sharing really comes into its own, even in an association that tends to bring together competitors.

By bringing together players from different backgrounds, the association creates a genuine community, encouraging cooperation and collaboration between members.