Malta Internet Exchange

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MIX, the Malta Internet eXchange, is a common national Internet backbone for Malta that was launched by NIC (Malta) on 7 September 1999. This was a result of working in partnership with the major ISPs operating in Malta to develop an operationally sound infrastructure.

Malta island republic in Europe

Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. With a population of about 475,000 over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the world's tenth smallest and fifth most densely populated country. Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area at 0.8 km.2 The official languages are Maltese and English, with Maltese officially recognised as the national language and the only Semitic language in the European Union.

The Internet exchange facility is located at the University of Malta Computing Services Centre (CSC). A close partnership with the CSC, enables NIC to provide reliable operations and technical support.

University of Malta university in Malta

The University of Malta is the highest educational institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates (PhD). It is a member of the European University Association, the European Access Network, Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Utrecht Network, the Santander Network, the Compostela Group, the European Association for University Lifelong Learning (EUCEN) and the International Student Exchange Programme (ISEP). In post-nominals the University's name is abbreviated as Melit; a shortened form of Melita.

The initial MIX set-up made use of Frame-Relay infrastructure to connect the ISPs to the Exchange. ISPs now connect to the MIX facility on campus using ATM PVCs or leased circuits.


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