Our commitment to developing the Internet ecosystem in the Balkans continues through concrete initiatives and a determination to build long-term relationships founded on trust, technical support, and knowledge sharing. In recent months, we have carried out several activities in Kosovo and North Macedonia, and we are already preparing the next edition of the ANIX Meeting in Albania. Below is a brief update on what we have achieved and what lies ahead.
KOSIX: installation, training, and a growing community
In mid-September, we completed our second technical mission to Pristina, as part of the collaboration launched with ARKEP to relaunch KOSIX, Kosovo’s Internet Exchange Point, within the framework of the project funded by the Internet Society’s (ISOC) Sustainable Peering Infrastructure program.
During the visit, we installed two next-generation servers and began configuring the IXP’s core services: redundant route servers, an IXP Manager instance, monitoring tools, and an AS112 node.
Working side by side with local technicians, we also conducted an initial operational training session, structured as genuine on-the-job learning. The objective was twofold: first, to provide practical tools for autonomous infrastructure management; and second, to strengthen collaboration between those who work daily to grow KOSIX and our own technical team.
The collaboration with ARKEP will continue in the coming months. By year’s end, we have scheduled a more structured training program, aimed not only at IXP staff but also at technicians from local operators already connected—or soon to be connected—to KOSIX. In this way, we aim to contribute to the emergence of a truly Kosovar technical community—competent, independent, and capable of sustaining the IXP’s development over time.
IXP.mk: an academic partnership to strengthen connectivity in North Macedonia
In October, we formalized a new collaboration with IXP.mk, the Internet Exchange Point in Skopje, which has been active for several years as a non-profit academic initiative. The IXP is managed by the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Skopje, and is carried forward with passion by a group of technicians and faculty members on a voluntary basis, with the goal of improving interconnection quality in the country.
The partnership was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Namex and IXP.mk. This two-year agreement includes technical support and equipment donations for IXP development; educational initiatives and continuous training programs; development of an active technical community focused on networking and cybersecurity; joint events on topics relevant to the Mediterranean region; and research and development projects between the teams of both organizations.
As a first concrete step, and with the support of FlexOptix, we contributed to the supply of high-capacity optics (40G and 100G), essential for expanding the IXP’s infrastructure. It was a modest operational contribution within the framework of a broad and ambitious collaboration aimed at building lasting ties between technical communities.
IXP.mk is more than just an Internet Exchange Point—it is a laboratory for training, experimentation, and connection, both in a technical and a human sense. For us, it is an honor to lend our support.
ANIX: the next ANIX meeting on the horizon
Following the success of the December 2024 edition, preparations are already underway for the next ANIX Meeting, scheduled for early 2026. The goal is to further increase participation by involving local and regional operators, institutions, universities, and international organizations that share our vision of an open, distributed, and collaborative Internet.
In the meantime, ANIX continues to grow: with new networks joining and an increasingly active technical community, it is establishing itself as a reference point for traffic exchange in Albania. The upcoming Meeting will be an opportunity to take stock, share new ideas, and, above all, design the next steps together.
Our approach in the Balkans remains unchanged: not to impose models, but to support local technical communities in their growth journey. The road ahead is still long, but every collaboration initiated, every training session organized, and every port that lights up on an IXP is one more step toward a stronger, more local, and more resilient Internet.
— By Daniele Arena, Peering developer at Namex
