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# Wichita Internet Exchange Point Set to Begin Operations in Coming Weeks
- URL: https://broadbandbreakfast.com/wichita-internet-exchange-point-set-to-begin-operations-in-coming-weeks/
- Published: 2026-08-13T20:27:14.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-04T21:47:16.000Z
- Description: A partnership with an AI compute tenant is providing the cash to build more rural IXPs
- Author: Jake Neenan
- Tags: Infrastructure, Hunter Newby, Brent Legg, Connected Nation, Newby Ventures, IXP.us, Kansas, COX, Lumen, #with-siderail, mountain connect 2026, Mount Connect

DENVER, Aug. 13, 2026 – The first internet exchange point in Wichita, Kansas, is set to begin operations soon, the project's backers said Tuesday.

“The physical facility is nearing operation, and network operators will begin building into the site in a couple of weeks,” said **Brent Legg**, Connected Nation’s head of government affairs. He spoke at the Mountain Connect conference here.

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An internet exchange point, or IXP, are switches where broadband and content delivery networks can all interconnect with each other and exchange data directly. The latency, or time it takes for data to travel from one place to another, for a given end user is [dependent in part](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/more-internet-exchanges-necessary-for-rural-areas-experts/) on their distance from an IXP.

Connected Nation and **Hunter Newby**, who pioneered the now-ubiquitous “neutral host” model of IXPs, have formed a joint venture aimed at expanding IXPs to smaller cities and towns.

The venture, IXP.us, is aiming to get to 135 cities in 47 states, Legg said. Wichita, the pilot project, was funded by a $5 million grant from the Capital Projects Fund, a model Newby said he disliked.

“I don’t like pursuing grants because of the uncertainty about actually getting it,” he said. “And then the Sword of Damocles over your head about getting it done on time, all these things we can’t control.”

To that end, IXP.us is [partnering with](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/partnership-targets-low-latency-ai-at-internet-exchange-points/) a data center company called Moonshot to put computational resources in the exchange points. 

“The cash flow to us, that is him being a tenant of us, is enough to financially underwrite all of this and solve that local internet exchange point interconnection problem,” Newby said.

The hope is that the extra compute resources will improve artificial intelligence services in rural areas by reducing latency and allowing for more real-time use cases, and make the IXPs even more attractive for tenants.

IXP.us had previously targeted a July 2026 construction date for the Wichita project. The project [broke ground](https://broadbandbreakfast.com/excited-wichita-breaks-ground-on-new-internet-exchange-point/) in May 2025.

### *More partnerships?*

Newby said the joint venture had had talks with Cox and Lumen, both of which he said could be interested in being tenants in cities where they operate.

Cox is in the process of being acquired by Charter for $34.5 billion. California’s utility regulator is set to vote on the deal Thursday, the final barrier to its closing.

Lumen sold its consumer fiber business to AT&T, but operates enterprise and wholesale fiber services. The company has inked multiple deals to provide connectivity to hyperscalers.