Galnix, a company owned by the Galician companies cloud.gal, Rede Aberta and Norvoz Telecom, will develop the first neutral connectivity point in Galicia. This project will not only improve internet access and digital transformation throughout the Galician business ecosystem, but will also reduce dependence on other centres located in more remote areas such as Madrid or Barcelona. The project, which will come into operation at the beginning of 2025, has a subsidy from Igape (Galician Institute for Economic Promotion), as it considers that it contributes to improving the digital experience throughout the territory of the autonomous community, as well as promoting digital transformation, with special attention to the rural area, emerging sectors and SMEs. The new Galnix neutral point, an internet data traffic exchange node that will be located in Santiago de Compostela, will allow a reduction of up to 75% in the distance that data must travel, as until now it is done in places located hundreds of kilometres away. In this way, latency in internet browsing will be improved and interconnectivity between operators in the Galician ecosystem will be increased. It will also increase network security, by allowing more efficient and closer monitoring and management of data traffic. The promoters of Galnix highlight that this project will represent an advance in “sustainability and in the fight against climate change, since energy consumption is reduced” by avoiding “long data journeys”. In addition, the new infrastructure will have a photovoltaic energy generation system to eliminate the carbon footprint of its operation. “The creation of an exchange node, which will promote the autonomous management of internet traffic, with responses adapted to the needs of the community, will boost the positioning of Galicia as an innovative ecosystem in the field of digital transformation,” they point out. The launch of Galnix will guarantee a correct internet service in intra-community traffic, improve the processes of intelligent and autonomous mobility in Galician smart cities and an effective use of telemedicine (video consultations, remote surgeries, etc.) or e-commerce, both in urban and rural areas. Galnix is also making progress in negotiations to establish relationships and synergies with other similar projects in Spain and Europe, such as Espanix, the largest telecommunications neutral point in Spain; DE-CIX, located in Germany; or the Cidade das TIC (A Coruña).
Institutional and business support
Galnix, with an estimated investment of 2.1 million euros, has the support of 26 institutions and companies that consider it to be a “completely innovative, novel and unique initiative” for the ICT ecosystem in Galicia. Thus, it has the support of the City Council of Santiago de Compostela, 13 telecommunications operators; the two digital innovation hubs; the automotive, renewable energy and ICT clusters; or the professional associations of Telecommunications, IT and Industrial Engineering. In this way, Galnix will establish an Advisory Board, a consultative and advisory body, to guarantee the essentially neutral and facilitating function for the Internet ecosystem in Galicia. It will be made up of representatives of the industrial clusters, the telecommunications sector and the associations and professional organizations of Telecommunications and IT engineers.
About the promoters
Rede Aberta is a Galician company with headquarters in Santiago de Compostela. The company started its activity in 2020 and is specialized in the deployment of neutral fiber optic networks in rural areas with 22 direct jobs and more than 250 indirect jobs. The company is present in more than 100 municipalities within the four Galician provinces where it has already installed more than 250,000 real estate units and plans to reach 500,000 units. It is owned by CEBF (Connecting Europe Broadband Fund), a fund with 555 million euros that exclusively promotes digital infrastructure in Europe. It is managed by Cube Infrastructure Managers (“Cube IM”), specialized in infrastructure investments. cloud.gal is specialized in private cloud infrastructure, cloud architecture design, cloud migration projects, management and maintenance of virtualized infrastructure and solutions focused on cybersecurity and new flexible work spaces. The company manages the IT fleet of thousands of users, located mainly in Galicia and the national territory. It uses predictive technology and pioneering systems to minimize the possibility of incidents. It has received numerous awards for its work methodology and actively collaborates in the technological ecosystem of Spain. Norvoz is a telecommunications operator focused on providing services to companies, providing solutions in advanced connectivity and unified communications with high added value. It deploys customized projects for its clients with the maximum guarantee of continuity in the service, including thorough monitoring and close and specialized support. With more than 20 years of experience, it currently manages around 15,000 extensions and more than 1,000 interconnected offices.
