TOKYO -- INTERNET MULTIFEED CO. (MFEED; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Koichi Suzuki) today announced plans to enhance its JPNAP distributed IX (Internet exchange) service from January 2003, adding a 10G Ethernet interface and becoming the first commercial IX service in Japan to offer support for switching of broadband traffic over 10Gbps Ethernet.

The Internet backbone in Japan is under increasing pressure from the fast-growing use of ADSL, FTTH and other broadband access services. Since JPNAP service began in May last year, as a service interconnecting Internet service providers (ISPs) and other providers, traffic volume has continued to increase at an annual rate of more than 300 percent. As a result, some major ISPs currently using multiple one-Gigabit Ethernet switch ports have expressed a growing desire for service above and beyond the existing one-Gigabit capacity.

MFEED is meeting these demands by adding a 10G Ethernet interface option to JPNAP service. The new service will realize stable and efficient handling of additional increases in traffic, contributing to a more satisfying experience for users of the Internet infrastructure in the broadband era.