Connected Nation

History in the making: Connected Nation breaks ground on Kansas’s first Internet Exchange Point

• Jessica Denson • Season 6 • Episode 18

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On this episode of Connected Nation, we take you to Wichita, Kansas for an historic event – the groundbreaking of the first Internet Exchange Point in the state. 

We talk with those who have been working toward this moment for years – about what an Internet Exchange Point is, why it’s important to individuals, businesses, and communities, AND the effort to bring this same infrastructure to 125 towns across the country.

Related links:
CNIXP: connectednation.org/ixp

Wichita State University: https://www.wichita.edu/

Newby Ventures: https://www.newby-ventures.com/

DE-CIX: https://www.de-cix.net/

Cisco: https://www.cisco.com/

About the WSU CNIXP: https://connectednation.org/press-releases/connected-nation-breaks-ground-on-kansass-first-internet-exchange-point-facility-at-wichita-state-university

Jessica Denson, Host (00:06):

This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband from closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds. We talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods.

(00:21):

On today's podcast, we take you to Wichita, Kansas for an historic event, the groundbreaking of the first internet exchange point in the state.

(00:31):

We talk with those who have been working toward this moment for years about what an internet exchange point is, why it's important to individuals, businesses, and communities, and the effort to bring this same infrastructure to 125 towns across the country.

(00:49):

 I'm Jessica Denson, and this is Connected Nation.

(00:54):

I am in Wichita, Kansas, standing right across from Wichita State University's Baseball Stadium and Innovation Campus, and I'm standing outside a big white tent. There are, there's dirt, there are shovels. There's a big event. Happy day. It's a, it's an important day for Connected Nation. And I am standing with Tom Re, our chairman and CEO Welcome, Tom.

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (01:15):

Great to, great to be here. Jessica. What a day.

Jessica Denson, Host (01:17):

Yeah, what a day. The sun is shining. It's a little cool. Thank goodness it's not so hot. Thank <laugh>. Um, tell us what we're doing here today.

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (01:26):

Well, we have quite a few activities, uh, this week planned for Wichita. We just included our, uh, spring meeting of the Board of directors, and I great fortune to have a lot of them here in attendance today for this very special moment for Connected Nation and our partner, hunter Newbie. You know, as an organization, we have a long history of many firsts. In 2004, we produced the country's first broadband availability map. We did that in Kentucky, and that map would actually go on to steer over a hundred million in public and private investment. Um, so today is another kind of big moment like that where we think that we're gonna give birth to a brand new segment of the industry, uh, and for, for too long, you know, rural America and some of the, uh, non suburban communities have lacked the same quality internet experience that the, you know, the more urban and metropolitan areas have.

(02:09):

So, uh, today's event is not only special for a first, but it's also, uh, a special for what it means for, um, the rest of America. Uh, we're gonna be breaking ground on an internet exchange point, uh, important to note that it's a carrier neutral internet exchange point, uh, that is faithful to, uh, to our mission to make sure that we, uh, are providing a neutral venue for all comers, uh, of a technology solution to come and participate in this and hopefully result in a, a very vibrant, uh, affordable and reliable, uh, economic internet, uh, landscape here in central Kansas.

Jessica Denson, Host (02:45):

And, uh, this, this, this internet exchange point connected Nation internet exchange point, and if you wanna learn about it, it's connect nation.org/ip. Now, it's, it's kind of unique because we are partnering with a, uh, a for-profit company and, and we're a non-profit. Talk a little bit about the joint venture and what's special about that.

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (03:05):

Well, what's special about that is, uh, we have found a, an incredible partner in Hunter Newbie. Uh, this is the space that he knows well, uh, it has up until this point been, again, the treasures of some of these, you know, high density metropolitan areas. And so we met Hunter probably about seven or eight years ago. And, uh, I think we were both a little intrigued with one another <laugh> not from, uh, how we are looking at the, the, the opportunity, but, uh, from our different, uh, experiences. And so to have a nonprofit come together with his, again, aligned in the mission to begin to do the things that have always empowered and enabled metropolitan areas to bring that to our neck of the woods, uh, and where we've done a lot of our work here. And that is to raise up some of these, uh, areas of, of America that aren't in the, uh, in those big suburban and metropolitan clusters. So, you know, it's, it's not at odds. Uh, I think he feels very drawn to helping see the other areas of America prosper as much as some of the areas that he's worked in and over his course of his career. And so I couldn't be more pleased with the partnership and certainly for the, the future that, that our partnership holds.

Jessica Denson, Host (04:08):

Yeah. If you have, if anybody ever has time with Hunter Newbie, he can binge your ear on the technology and his love of it. He is excited about this.

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (04:16):

He he really is. Yeah, he really is. And then you're, he's No, no shortage of words.

Jessica Denson, Host (04:19):

<laugh>. No, he, it's great though. 'cause I feel like I understand things like I never understood before, like GPU versus A CPU and things like that. But, um, I'm watching right now, and Brit Legg is one of the people that's really been, uh, critical in this effort. Talk about Brent's role, what he's done.

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (04:37):

Yeah. Well, so Brent is a long history here at Connected Nation. Um, he's one of our, our more, uh, tenured employees here. And by the way, I think that speaks to the, uh, how, how impassioned our employees are, that

Jessica Denson, Host (04:49):

He is a great place to work.

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (04:50):

A lot of em come and they stay, uh, because the work, the war work is rewarding. And, uh, Brent's been a big, uh, secret to that success. You know, he's, I guess, formerly trained in government affairs and, and the policy world, and he

Jessica Denson, Host (05:01):

Is sneaking back behind you there, and

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (05:03):

He is sneaking back

Jessica Denson, Host (05:03):

Behind me. But when we're talking about you, Brent, and about how, how great you are <laugh>, uh,

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (05:06):

Yeah's,

(05:06):

But, uh, you know, part of the, the work that we're, um, asked to do as part of this partnership is to really begin to, um, you know, work on the education curve that some of these communities, he might not understand the significance or the opportunity that locating an internet exchange point in their, in their area would bring. And so that's one of the, the things that, uh, grant Brent has done so well, is to help educate the, the, the local communities, help them understand that, um, some of the progress they've made can only be made better by enriching the, uh, interconnection, uh, landscape of their respective communities. So, um, up to this point, it feels like we've been at this for a number of years, even though, I guess today is the breaking of our first facility. Uh, we've been at this from an education perspective for a number of years mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so in many ways, um, we've laid the groundwork now to hopefully have this thing, uh, become a very public, uh, event. A very, a very public facility, and one that will, uh, only enhance our ability to reach new communities outside of Wichita, uh, who similarly could benefit from such a facility.

Jessica Denson, Host (06:08):

And really, the goal is, uh, 125, is that right?

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (06:11):

125. We've diligence the whole country to see where are the different wichitas that kind of look like they may be ripe for, uh, this type of, um, venture. And so, uh, a lot of it is in partnerships with some of the major land grant universities, uh, that has the, uh, the benefit of getting a captive audience, or what they call eyeballs in our respective, uh, industry. Uh, it also, they are, most universities are very keen on driving economic development and bringing research and development dollars. And so, uh, it becomes a great place, uh, to, to, to nurture and develop these, uh, that really will benefit more than just the campus. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. It has the, the wide, wide reaching, uh, impact for the community, the region, and even the states. In fact, there are 14 states in America that don't have an independent, uh, carrier neutral internet exchange point. So they are certainly high on that list of 125.

Jessica Denson, Host (06:59):

I find it, I, uh, people will probably hear the traffic behind us. We're right across from Wichita State University's innovation campus, which I find it very striking that the first is in a place that is growing because of innovation. There's construction all over the campus, they're focused on technology. And this is the first place. Is, is it, do you feel like it's, um, serendipitous really, that we're gonna be in a place like that?

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (07:23):

Well, it's no accident. What, what whatsoever? Uh, in fact, the, the innovation campus, uh, first credit to Dr. Rit Mua, he's very forward-thinking, uh, president of, of a, of a university. Uh, he has made Wichita State one of the leading institutions now for this type of, uh, public, public, public private investments and, uh, public research, excuse me, private research dollars that have come in. That's what makes the distinction, uh, from other universities. He has really courted industry and brought them, uh, to the fore. And he has certainly aided it with the, the great talents of Tanya Witherspoon, who, uh, you say serendipity. Tanya, uh, reached out to us. And so she says, I need an internet exchange point, and you've raised your hand that you're going to be doing that. Let's make this our first site. And so it is poetic. It is the middle of America. It's about as center a point as you could put, uh, in the United States, and we are just thrilled to have such an, uh, uh, an impassioned and energetic, uh, partner in, in Wichita State and Tanya Witherspoon to make this our first, uh, our maiden launch.

Jessica Denson, Host (08:25):

Well, congratulations on getting here, and I'm excited to see what the next year several years holds. Tom Furry, CEO and Chairman of Connected Nation.

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (08:32):

Thank you, Jessica.

Jessica Denson, Host (08:34):

I am sitting here with Hunter Newbie, who is the owner and CEO of Newbie Ventures. And, um, you guys, your company is partnering with Connected Nation on this project that we're here, here about today. Tell me a little bit about what we're doing and what we're building.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (08:49):

Yeah, so Newbie Ventures is, um, my personal holding company that I make directed investments out of. Um, I set it up in 2017 after a, a few different exits in this industry, in this space. Um, I've made several directed investments out of the fund and, uh, the C-N-I-X-P joint ventures one, so that's actually through, uh, one of the holding companies. So not directly from Newbie Ventures, but one of the subs. Um, what are we doing here? Um, we are building a carrier neutral interconnection facility. It's a, that's a big, long wordy sort of thing. So, uh, we try to compress that to internet exchange point. And there are some people in, in the internet exchange industry that, uh, don't delineate between internet exchange point and internet exchange. They actually are different things to us. Uh, one is the building or room, uh, the IXP, that the switch the IX goes into.

(09:49):

And an IX internet exchange is essentially an ethernet switch that facilitates, uh, the interconnection between disparate internet protocol networks or IP networks. Very basic. It's how the internet works optimally and, and, and efficiently. Um, so we're creating a building within IT rooms in one of the rooms, uh, will house this switch and, and it will facilitate physical interconnection between different fiber networks. And then, uh, the virtual VLAN interconnection over the ethernet switch, or the IX between IP networks. Basically. It's sort of like an internet airport. State of Kansas doesn't have an internet airport. Kansas City, Missouri, which is a different state. I know the name. Kansas is in the name of the city. It's the same city as the state line through the middle. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, I used to, you know, be one of the owners of 1102 grand, the carrier hotel in Kansas City, Missouri.

(10:45):

So I'm very familiar with this area. So this is the first purpose built building in the state of Kansas to house an internet exchange switch. Um, you know, for this purpose, um, of interconnection specifically, it's not a data center. I'd also add that data centers are, you know, pretty specific. Uh, they could be single tenant. We're obviously building a multi-tenant facility for lots of different fiber networks to meet, sort of like a crossroads, um, junction point. Um, but yeah, so in the purpose of that is to help, um, reduce costs for internet access, generally speaking, um, but also transport, uh, which is a layer below internet protocol. Um, and that's ethernet basically, um, point to point and whatnot. And then, um, lower latency, which is super important. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Which is to reduce the time it takes to actually, you know, send and receive or call and retrieve data.

(11:43):

Um, and then that's the very foundation of how the internet works today and upon that. Now today, uh, is ai and there's a certain flavor of ai, which is called training model, or large language model, LLM, that's generally speaking, not very latency, uh, sensitive. Um, but then there's another part, again, many neighborhoods here in ai, and there's a part of ai and which is called inference in certain, um, iterations of inference and agentic ai, which are very, very latency sensitive. Like it needs to be super low latency. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. The only way to do that is to have local interconnection between the disparate networks that are trying to communicate with each other. So this facility, which is being purpose built on the campus of Wichita State University, is to create a point in the city of Wichita for that low latency interconnection, which also reduces cost at the same time.

(12:38):

Then there's network diversity, very important routing diversity. So in case of fiber cuts along the way, this place becomes, uh, a hub, a junction point in the state, in this city, geographically located sort of in the middle. Um, which really helps to bifurcate all the IP traffic that leaves the state of Kansas today and goes to either Kansas City, Missouri, 1102 grand, or nine 10, uh, 15th. And in Denver mostly, uh, some goes to Dallas, I guess, and maybe a little bit to Oklahoma or Minneapolis, but it leaves the state entirely keeping it in the state, keeping the data, local data sovereignty. Uh, there's a lot of requirements, um, coming, uh, for, for records, data sovereignty records at the state levels. The only way to really do that is to have an exchange point in the state that the data centers in the state can all connect to. So this serves a lot of purposes.

Jessica Denson, Host (13:33):

So you mentioned latency several times, especially in relation to ai, and I think really the thing that helps people understand what that is and why it matters is when you talk about how far the data has to go and come back right now, um, explain that, why that's critical to AI right now, and why more people are not talking about that.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (13:52):

Well, people are starting to talk about it more. The why they haven't thus far is that, um, the first real iteration, um, of AI that people got to know, um, was based upon large language models, which came outta machine learning, um, which is generally referred to as training or training model. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, which is just a very large repository of information. And now deploying that, you know, putting it into the use with the public effectuating, it means that the public needs access to it. And then the public isn't just people, it's also machines. And then there's a lot of machine to machine, which is all very local. 'cause all the people in the world that use AI don't all live in the same city. Uhhuh as the data center. The AI is in Uhhuh

(14:38):

Very simply. Um, so the reason why people are starting to talk about it now is because AI as, as a, an actual, um, application, let's call it, or, or technology that businesses and individuals can use mm-hmm <affirmative>. It's just rapidly expanding. It's being incorporated into life. So that's great, but that means that it needs to be available wherever you are all the time. And just like with a cell phone, where some places you're in a city, you have 5G, and then when you move sort of outside of the city, it goes to LTE, then 3G and then two G. Uh, you know, the further you move away from the core, which is all about like where capital can be deployed and get a return, uh, the, the lower the service performance and availability is same thing with this, you know, flavors of inference and agentic ai. So the training model, AI basically chased power. They went and looked for places where there's lots of power

Jessica Denson, Host (15:36):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (15:37):

And they said, AI doesn't care. It could be in the middle of nowhere. We just need lots of power. Well, training a AI doesn't care necessarily.

Jessica Denson, Host (15:43):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (15:44):

But inference AI needs to be in the center of every city, uh, and lots of different inference nodes from all these different companies that are running their own ais. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. That's what this is about. So we're just at that stage of evolution where it's become massively relevant and important for the deployment so that businesses and people can use it.

Jessica Denson, Host (16:03):

So on that note, you know, uh, when we talk about in, um, internet exchange points, um, or what you called meet me rooms, I believed earlier.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (16:11):

Yeah. That's, that's actually my, one of my original terms, Uhhuh, that I pioneered the meet me room <laugh> it, the, the term out here in rural America doesn't translate as well as internet exchange point. 'cause people have heard of the internet and they think, oh, if I have one of those, the internet will be faster and cheaper. Uhhuh <affirmative>, if I say Meet me room, then people's eyes sort of glaze over and they're like, whoa. Yeah. Is this a dating thing? Or you're building rooms where people can meet online. It's just like a Tinder. I'm like, no. So I don't say that. Although anyone in our industry in the mm-hmm. The network, you know, carrier fiber network, if you say Meet me room, they're gonna know what that means. Yeah. It's an industry term.

Jessica Denson, Host (16:50):

Um, so one of the things that, that I think is interesting is that really you and Brent Legg, who's who you two led this effort with c with the C-N-I-X-P, we're talking about something year, two, three years ago that no one else was talking about. And now here we are three years later, we're we're starting our first one. And, um, and I may even have the timeline a little wrong with that, but why were people not talking about putting these in rural areas or smaller cities or mid-sized cities sooner?

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (17:23):

Uh, it's not that they weren't that timeframe ago,

Jessica Denson, Host (17:27):

Uhhuh <affirmative>,

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (17:27):

Uh, there was this phenomenon that sort of came and went, called the Edge, and everyone said the edge and edge and edge. Um, but if they completed that, uh, phrase that thought mm-hmm <affirmative>. It was usually edge computing. And then they would say, well, edge data center, and again, I don't build data centers.

Jessica Denson, Host (17:42):

Yeah. <laugh>,

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (17:43):

Right. I build interconnection facilities. You made that through. Yeah. Yeah. So one of the reasons why edge computing didn't happen,

Jessica Denson, Host (17:49):

<affirmative>

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (17:49):

Has not happened yet. It will, is because in the, uh, in the OSI model, open systems interconnection model, which is the hierarchy of how all networks function. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Anyone can go look it up. There's seven layers. If you count layer zero, there's eight. And I'm basically a layer zero guy. And that's the physical layer. That's the dirt that we are standing on right here now.

Jessica Denson, Host (18:10):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (18:10):

Funny thing about the network architecture of the OSI model is they don't count dirt. They take dirt for granted. Ah. See, so interconnection and dirt relates to simple things like, like manholes and conduits and ducks and entry points to buildings. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And these are things that I obsess over because of the physics of how fiber needs to get into a place. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Where most people that operate in the networking stack, their sort of minds don't turn on until there's telemetry, which is basically continuity of a circuit light, uh, frames and packets. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. They don't know. And they take for granted the dirt, the dirt, the manholes, the conduits, the ducks, the points of entry mm-hmm <affirmative>. And because of that, which I call edge interconnection, they all tried to jump to edge computing, but you can't have computing unless you have interconnection first. Anyone could build a modular edge data center mm-hmm <affirmative>.

(19:06):

And put servers in it, but what is it connected to and how and where, and those are the things that no one thought of couldn't answer those things. So the whole concept kind of didn't really go anywhere. Uh, there was a while ago this idea that these edge data centers would be built in place at the base of every cell tower. And I could tell you a bunch of reasons why that isn't really gonna happen, but, uh, for certain mobile network operators or others that are, you know, single tenant purpose-built. Yeah, sure. And you could call that a data center if you wish. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Since, since I, and you know, we C-N-I-S-P build multi-tenant neutral interconnection facilities, there's a lot of reasons why they can't be at the base of every cell tower. Mm-hmm

(19:48):

<affirmative>. And you really need the diligence where they need to be. And starting at the, the rural, you know, cities of a population size of minimum X, which is around 200,000 people, um, with a public state university like Wichita State, uh, population, you know, suit and body of y mm-hmm <affirmative>. Which in the case here is like around 15,000, um, no internet exchange in that city today. And a distance of greater than a hundred miles to the next closest internet exchange. This city checked all those boxes. There are 125 cities like this one in the United States that lack an internet exchange in it. And it wasn't that long ago that the internet exchange, let's call it community thought it's unnecessary. Those cities don't need them. They can be served by the next closest internet exchange, which is several hundred miles away, to your point about distance. And that was sort of tolerable and acceptable, even though it was a lesser lower class experience for those people, Uhhuh <affirmative>, it was not of the concern of the internet exchange community at large because they were like, we're good. 'cause to them it's more cost. Right?

(21:00):

Yeah. Well, again, we've evolved. AI is here. Yeah. And there's some, you know, uh, pros and cons to the time that it's taken us to get the land, uh, here perfected. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Uh, we had to deal with some restricted covenant issues and land use issues, which we were unaware of, that we became aware of and we had to resolve, which took us a while. It's not uncommon, it's unfortunate, but not uncommon. But in that year, this past year of 2024, when all that was known, addressed and resolved, AI happened, it didn't really inference AI happened, and now, now it's not. Okay. It's not satisfactory to serve city, uh, uh, a greater metropolitan area, population size Wichita of around 700,000 people from Kansas City, Missouri, which is almost 400 miles away. It's an 800 mile round trip delay, and one millisecond is equates to 50 optical miles. And optical mile is not as the crow flies.

Jessica Denson, Host (21:58):

Yeah.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (21:58):

It's slack, it and, and sag, you know, for fiber on poles and whatnot, which adds up to a lot of miles. So to get to some of the millisecond, um, roundtrip delays, RTDs required by some of these ai, uh, inference applications, the millisecond delay needs to be below five. Actually, some of them below three. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Like and I talk about often fraud

Jessica Denson, Host (22:21):

Detection. Yeah.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (22:21):

The big banks want to do fraud detection at the keystroke on the phone as it's occurring. To capture a keystroke as it's occurring requires three or sub three milliseconds. That's 150 optical miles. So in an RTD sense, that's 75 optical miles one way and back to get to a point where data can be processed, uh, translated interrelated to other sources, and then a response sent back, uh, for the next step of that, which would be fraud, uh, protection. So fraud detection, fraud protection,

(22:56):

Uhhuh, this is what the big banks are working on. Um, and I, I happen to know someone that's doing this global architecture at a big bank. And we had a discussion about this when I showed him the map in the United States, and I showed 'em where the internet exchanges aren't, aren't, and then the, the C-N-I-X-P map of 125 of these, where we're going to build them because they don't exist. And he looked at it and he was horrified to know that they didn't already exist, because his whole deployment plan is predicated on neutral points of interconnection existing mm-hmm <affirmative>. So that he can move into them, connect and exchange all the data and achieve three milliseconds mm-hmm <affirmative>. Because if he can't capture it that fast, he can't stop it. Ah. And there's a lot more that happens behind the scenes with the interrelation of checking with every other bank

Jessica Denson, Host (23:42):

Uhhuh

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (23:42):

Because of financial, um, protection of individual records. You can't disclose things. So they have to constantly ask, Hey, are you seeing this? Are you seeing that? What is this? What is that? And then they make their own determinations. There's processing time with that too.

Jessica Denson, Host (23:57):

Mm-hmm

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (23:57):

<affirmative>. Um, but it all relates to this. So

Jessica Denson, Host (24:00):

You just gave a a really good example of how this could affect people's lives. Yep. And that's with fraud detection with your bank account. What are really in your mind when this is built and it's running at high capacity, you're feeling good about it. What does that mean for people in Wichita, Kansas?

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (24:19):

Well, the bottom line, just generally better end user experience, experience is all encompassing. That could be lower cost, that could be better performance, that could be, you know, safe, uh, safer transactions. Um, it will be that things work. Certain applications that are deployed that they see on TV or hear about somewhere or whatever, uh, their friends are using, they'll be able to use it here too.

Jessica Denson, Host (24:44):

Uhhuh.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (24:44):

Um, the further you get away from places where, uh, low latency performance can be effectuated, um, the fewer applications you'll be able to use, the fewer options you'll have to do things. Again, this is a very simple analogy. Most of us live on our phones. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Most of us do everything. Flights, uh, we're booking things. Yes. <laugh> hotels. I mean, I'm on my phone. I think through, I do 30 things. I put the phone down and I go, oh, I forgot this. Pick the phone back up again. I have to do more. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. While you're checking messages while you're doing this, whatever. Okay. Take away the network, take away connectivity. You have no phone. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Okay. That's obviously pretty extreme. There's a, there's a gray area in there where certain applications require low latency, like

Jessica Denson, Host (25:29):

Video, uhhuh, <affirmative>,

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (25:30):

If you're trying to do full motion, you know, that's called duplex, full duplex. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Video and see the other person where it isn't choppy and there's no delay and there's no lag, that requires low latency. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Well, if you live in a place that doesn't have that kind of connectivity, there's certain places, there's plenty of them. People try to do work from home on Zoom or whatever teams, they can't 'cause they just don't simply have the connectivity. They don't have the

Jessica Denson, Host (25:56):

Throughput. Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (25:57):

So what does it mean for people that live in this city when everything's clicking away? I would hope that all the local networks, fixed line and mobile at that point, have all established interconnection presence in the facility. It's not the only one, but one because it's neutral and they have a lot of route options mm-hmm <affirmative>. And as a result of that, they'll be able to serve their customers better locally here, businesses and consumers. And they'll be able to offer more capacity at a lower cost and better performance with all the applications. Again, generally speaking, experience, better experience.

Jessica Denson, Host (26:32):

Um, you know, we heard a little bit of, uh, kerfluffle behind us, a little bit of excitement. People are, people are setting up for this groundbreaking, and every time I talk to you, you're excited about technology and like you said, you're excited about the manholes of this. Yeah. The dirt of this. Um, what does this mean to you today to finally be here?

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (26:51):

Wow. That's a great question. I've been thinking a lot about that since last night and today. Um, it's special and I'm just grateful to be here and very appreciative of all of you. Um, everyone at Connected Nation, just in a marvelous team. I love the way Tom runs his organization. Uh, I love the way he runs a board meeting.

Jessica Denson, Host (27:10):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (27:10):

Uh, I was telling him that when we were walking over here, uh, just so professional, um, so polished, so smooth, um, communicating thoughts and ideas at multiple levels. Um, and of course, Wichita State and, and in particular Tanya Witherspoon, who's been the leader, uh, the visionary, uh, the champion, uh, for this concept before we ever met. She knew she wanted an internet exchange here, and she tried to get the carriers to build it and was unsuccessful. Uh, so when she heard about us, you know, thanks to Brent, like, uh, she knew exactly. She was like, I wanna have that meeting <laugh>. I wanna meet them, tell them yes, we want it. And it's rare. I, I don't come across people like that often mm-hmm <affirmative>. In places where this doesn't already exist. I spent a lot of time educating people when I first started doing this, and nobody had ever heard of it. But in the big cities today, it's like, yeah, sure. Oh yeah. Everybody's like, oh, we know what that is when you come out to Wichita. And they're like, never heard of that. What is that? So she's been great. Obviously, you know, the relationship with Wichita State University is wonderful. Um, and, uh, yeah, just so happy to be here and, and look forward to, you know, groundbreaking for me is not the end, it's the beginning. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And it took us a long time, as you noted.

Jessica Denson, Host (28:28):

Yeah.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (28:28):

Relatively speaking to get to here. And this is just the start. So the execution is everything. It's not just the idea mm-hmm

Jessica Denson, Host (28:35):

<affirmative>.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (28:35):

It's the execution. So from this point forward, the fund begins where we're building, you know, the modular facilities are being built, uh, right now actually already in, in Florida, uh, by Im, um, and we'd like to get through everything we need to do in the civil engineering and everything else, uh, on site so that we're prepared for the deployment as soon as possible. It'll probably take, you know, let's call it until next year, uh, I don't know exactly what month. Um, there's a lot of work to do manhole work. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Prep work with the carriers, bringing the fiber. Um, but it's just really great to be here. It's really great to get started finally mm-hmm

Jessica Denson, Host (29:09):

<affirmative>.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (29:09):

And I just really look forward to the ribbon cutting and sitting here again, <laugh>, yes. Not under a tent, but actually actually at the building,

Jessica Denson, Host (29:17):

Uhhuh.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (29:17):

Um, and to have all the network operators here present and hear it from them, hear it from them, what, what they love about it, why they're here, why they're using it, because that same story's been told many times over before

Jessica Denson, Host (29:31):

Uhhuh,

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (29:31):

Anytime I ever did a, bought a carry hotel and built a meet me room, it was like they didn't know what it was. Then after they came and they did it, they all said, oh, it's so great, and here's why. The same thing will happen here. Um, and it's always great to hear those stories and listen to the people locally that were not aware of this, um, become aware of it and talk about how it's impacted everything that they do. So.

Jessica Denson, Host (29:52):

All right. Hunter Newbie with Dubi Ventures. Thank you so much.

Hunter Newby, CEO & Founder, Newby Ventures (29:55):

Thank you. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. Two

Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation (29:56):

Three release.

Jessica Denson, Host (30:05):

We just finished the groundbreaking for the Connected Nation Internet Exchange point, the first in Kansas, the first carrier neutral one in Kansas, and the first of our project. And, uh, one of our attendees is Angela Finn, who is a senior director of Cisco Sales, internet and mass Scale infrastructure. We both agree that that was long

Angela Finn, Cisco  (30:24):

Time. Yes, you did. Well, thank you.

Jessica Denson, Host (30:26):

I just wanted to, to pull you aside and just talk about why you were here and what you do at Cisco and what Cisco does. So let's start with why you wanted to be here today.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (30:36):

Yeah. Well, I'm absolutely celebrating everything happening here, because this is, I always say it takes technology to connect, but it also takes humans to make it happen. And so Connected Nation and WSU have come together along with a lot of the supporters and stakeholders to make this happen. And we need it now. There's a call to action for connectivity throughout our world and throughout our country here. And the closer we get to the users, the higher the speed, higher reliability, but also lower the cost in order to be more inclusive in these connectivities. It's great for finance, healthcare, and our com and our communities throughout. So, I love it. And way to go

Jessica Denson, Host (31:17):

<laugh>. Yeah. <laugh>. Um, before the pandemic, sometimes it was hard for people to understand, like, why do you need to make that such a big deal? Why, why do not everybody has to have connectivity. But I think that changed the

Angela Finn, Cisco  (31:27):

Yeah.

Jessica Denson, Host (31:28):

The conversation a little bit. Did you find that as well, like as you were moving forward through this space? Or were you already like, no, we're, we're already a go. We want to, we wanna change this, we want everyone connected.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (31:40):

Yeah. I've been doing this quite a while, <laugh>, and, and really with connectivity comes responsibility. Because with connectivity, you're able to achieve so much more. Like I said, whether it's healthcare, finance, education, also our communities, our children, right? Uhhuh, Cisco's purpose is powering an inclusive future for all that is our purpose. So, but with that, if you lend in and take advantage of connectivity, then we need to make that access really more available to all right, to all people. We're upping it, we're upping our game, but with that comes that responsibility to include everybody in that movement.

Jessica Denson, Host (32:19):

So talk about a little bug right here. Uh, we're outside people, so it is a little bug <laugh>. Uh, so Angela, talk about what Cisco does. 'cause um, earlier, you know, I, I heard somebody ask, is it the food company? I'm like, no, no, no, no. <laugh>

Angela Finn, Cisco  (32:33):

Yes. We're Cisco with the C. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. So

Jessica Denson, Host (32:36):

Talk about what Cisco does.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (32:38):

Okay. And

Jessica Denson, Host (32:38):

You touched on the, but go expand upon it.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (32:40):

Of course. And so Cisco is one of the world leaders and technology companies. And we do, my part is within internet and mascal infrastructure. So we light the fiber that's in the ground. So it's the big optical and routing and automation and mobility. Anything that in your communications, in that big infrastructure that everything rides over, it rides over that infrastructure that we build. So you, and that you build with us. Now, Cisco also does mobility. It also does security. It also does data center. It does basically internet of things. Okay. It does the collaboration, WebEx, things like that. So we, we power digital workplace, workplaces, data centers, and secure connectivity throughout the world.

Jessica Denson, Host (33:28):

Mm-hmm <affirmative>. So since you are a global company, is, is this something that you could really see going and rural areas are mid-size areas all over the world, not just the us

Angela Finn, Cisco  (33:38):

Oh, absolutely. Uhhuh. So I also, so I'm responsible for all of the Americas. And by the way, there's a lot of these needs, for example, and part of my, um, region is Latin. And so a lot of the Latin American countries are, are contending with a lot of what we're doing here as far as trying to connect different communities and give access to higher bandwidth. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And to your point, when you asked about the pandemic, it kind of, I would say put it on like a, you know, lights. Yeah. Yeah. It did. It did. But it, but it's also, you know what, we're answering the call to that and it's a good thing. Right. You know, so, but we had always, so I started this, um, career of mine about 25 years ago, and how they explained it to me when I was just entering was, they said, an, it's called the internet and you need to be part of it. <laugh> is the internet 25 years ago. Okay. And look how, look what that did, right? Yeah. So now come to, now 25 plus years later, we're within this AI inflection point. So, and so with AI comes a lot of advancements that we should be all very excited about. But again, it goes back to that responsibility thing. We need to make sure everybody's connected in order to all have access to these advancements, uhhuh, <affirmative>. So, but yeah, throughout the world, this is absolutely an uplift and, but it is a call to action that we need to do.

Jessica Denson, Host (34:57):

So expand a little bit on your particular role. Okay. Again, I'm gonna read your, your, uh, title, senior Director, Cisco Sales, internet, and mass scale

Angela Finn, Cisco  (35:04):

Infrastructure. Yes.

Jessica Denson, Host (35:06):

So can you give us an example of what that is or anything that you're excited about that you can tell

Angela Finn, Cisco  (35:10):

Us about? Sure. Yeah. So it's basically rebuild the interstates that everything rides over

Jessica Denson, Host (35:17):

Uhhuh.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (35:18):

So think of it. So routing optical optics, when I'm sitting next to a person on a plane that's never even heard of us, and maybe think it's Cisco with an S <laugh> instead of a C. Um, we literally are the lasers that light the fiber in the ground that everybody writes over. So you need an interstate uhhuh, and that's the routing and optical. And then you start putting access roads, and there you're gonna start getting different switches and enterprise communities and campuses like here at WSU. And that takes different technologies, right? And you have your mobile phone and that takes different, um, like switches and routing and things like that. And then you have the applications that go on top of it, right? Autonomous cars is, you know, things like that. All of that needs a really reliable infrastructure or interstate, uh, in our human world to ride over. And that's what we build with our routers and optical, it's also needs to be secure, protected, reliable, resilient. And so we do a huge amount of research and r and d to make sure that not only will it work, but you can also trust it.

Jessica Denson, Host (36:24):

Yeah. There's a lot of talk nowadays too about, you know, not only having strong in infrastructure. Yeah. Being able to have the connection. 'cause I, Lord, help me if my computer does not work, <laugh>, I don't have interconnection, I lose my mind. So, um, right there. Thank you for that. Yeah. <laugh>. But for two, uh, the idea that, you know, there are, there could be some bad actors out there that we're trying to protect the country from at the same time, right? Not just states, but across the country.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (36:52):

Yep.

Jessica Denson, Host (36:53):

How, how are you, how is Cisco approaching that?

Angela Finn, Cisco  (36:55):

Well, we have a huge security division, Uhhuh, as you may have heard of, including Splunk, who we, and so we're super proud in leading in the world with our security offerings. But from, I'm gonna talk on my side 'cause I, I, I, I don't want to do a dis justice by talking for them Uhhuh, but I'm telling you right now, you can, you layer security on everything you do needs to be part of everything we do. But inherent in that infrastructure. So talking on MySpace, uhhuh, basically it comes from even the hardware you use. So hardware, uh, HSM. And so basically this hardware service modules that make it so that you can trace down to basically the codes on what was used. So it can be can't be counterfeited, um, that you can't have fakes put in. And then allow access to others, the, the secure software so that it can't be hacked and you can't get in there. It, it counts into basically secure upgrades so that when they're so downtimes and things like that, you never go dark. And so you don't give access to that. It even matters where you manufacture, who manufactures it, what's getting manufactured in the same facilities. All of this is taken into consideration in what we do in offering secure, reliable connectivity.

Jessica Denson, Host (38:10):

Um, I'm really struck by, I think it's interesting that you're, you're very high up in technology. Tanya. I talked to her, she's,

Angela Finn, Cisco  (38:16):

Yeah.

Jessica Denson, Host (38:16):

She's leads the innovation at campus.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (38:18):

She's amazing.

Jessica Denson, Host (38:18):

There's this idea that women aren't involved in technology. You're seeing a lot of

Angela Finn, Cisco  (38:22):

Leadership Yeah.

Jessica Denson, Host (38:23):

In technology. But you, what you cur is that, are you seeing more of that than you may have saw 25 years ago, or may have seen 25 years

Angela Finn, Cisco  (38:31):

Ago? I am, and I'm really happy about it. Yeah. And so I, so I've been at Cisco four years prior to Cisco was at a company called Sienna, and with a c also <laugh>. And, and, um, me and my very good friend and technology executive, Carrie Gilder, who's now the CEO of cult based in London, Uhhuh <affirmative>, um, we started Women at Sienna. And back then there were not many of us. Right. And so, but now we're getting a lot more women involved. And I, and we're really good at it. Yeah. We connect people, we care and we show up and we do the work, and we also have innovative minds. And it, it's, it's a diversity of thought. Now where we need to continue is, so we're doing a lot better in bringing people into our industry. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. What we need to continue the work on is really dig in on making sure that once they join, they continue to move up and get leadership positions.

(39:28):

So that is a huge, I would would it is a huge part of the equation, right? And so, and also in giving access to all, but it's not just about gender, it's really just diversity of everything. Diversity of thought, background, you know, so basically all voices, welcome all minds welcome left brain and right brains too. I even say diversity of personality. And I'm gonna say one thing here because I'm sales. I've been in sales for 25 plus years, Uhhuh. And there used to be, and I'm gonna talk about my diversity of personality. 'cause I'm, I'm big on this. People used to always say, you have to be an extrovert to be in sales uhhuh. Right? And, and I'm an extrovert and it kind of worked out for me, right? <laugh>. But, but I also didn't think that's

Jessica Denson, Host (40:13):

Cool

Angela Finn, Cisco  (40:14):

Because you can have amazing salespeople who are introverts. And by the way, look at our customer base and the human populations we're all different. And that's a great thing. So why wouldn't we have different types of personalities when they enroll? So I really became, and, and it also gives that complimentary, um, thought and collaboration. So I've been a diverse diversity advocate and everything, including personality. But then the funny thing is, so yes, introverts can be salespeople. Yes. Let me announce that now. <laugh>. But also what's funny is it goes the other way too, in technical and technical people will be like, wow, Angela, you're technical, newly, like, wow, you can be an extrovert and technical. I'm like, yes, <laugh>. And by the way, there's engineers that are extroverts. Yes. And that's great. So anyway, I just wanted to

Jessica Denson, Host (41:02):

Diversity of personality.

Angela Finn, Cisco  (41:03):

Yes. I

Jessica Denson, Host (41:03):

Like that. I love it. I'm gonna adopt that in my

Angela Finn, Cisco  (41:05):

Life. Yes. Okay. Perfect.

Jessica Denson, Host (41:06):

Perfect. So what do you hope comes from, I know this is day one Yes. Of, of an exciting time. The, the first carrier neutral internet exchange Yes. In Kansas. What do you hope comes from

Angela Finn, Cisco  (41:18):

This man? This is just the start. It really is. I mean, at the end of the day, we need to give access to all we need. High speed, high bandwidth, high access, lower costs. And so, and basically let's, I, I, I really do believe this is gonna be a flagship for others to follow, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative>. And so, yes, I am fully confident and so excited that this in itself will be in exchange as the first inter inner exchange point in Kansas. Mm-hmm <affirmative>. But I do believe it's just the beginning. And we were here right now and I'm so excited and proud and thankful to be here.

Jessica Denson, Host (41:59):

Well, thank you so much. Angela Finn, Jessica, lemme, I'm gonna read your title to get it right. <laugh> Senior Director, Cisco Sales, internet, and Mass Scale Infrastructure. I really appreciate your

Angela Finn, Cisco  (42:08):

Time. Thank you, Jessica. You're

Jessica Denson, Host (42:09):

Awesome. Okay. Bye. The facility is located across the street from Wichita State University, a stones throwaway from its innovation campus. The project is the result of a $5 million grant awarded by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly in 2023 as part of a $28.5 million high speed internet infrastructure package. I've included a press release on the project in the description of this podcast. To learn how to bring a Connected Nation internet exchange point to your area, head to connected nation.org/ixp or email the team at ixp@connectednation.org. I'm Jessica Denson. Thanks for listening to Connected Nation. If you like our show and wanna know more about us, head to connected nation.org or look to the latest episodes on iTunes, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Pandora, or Spotify.

 

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