Second IEIC/NAP global digital infrastructure summit coming to Henrico in November

The Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee will host the IEIC/NAP Summit 2.0 in Short Pump Nov. 8, a follow-up to the inaugural version of the event held in Sandston in May 2019 and a gathering designed in part to showcase Henrico as a key player globally in internet infrastructure.

The initial summit was held at the QTS data center in Sandston and showcased that facility’s NAP, or network access point – a connection point that joins together several high-speed subsea cables with terrestrial fiber and other network service provider industry sub-sectors. It attracted more than 400 industry executives and 30 speakers.

This year’s event, scheduled at the Hilton Richmond Hotel and Spa, is expected to attract a similar crowd of digital infrastructure leaders from public and private sectors worldwide. It will feature confirmed notable speakers Vint Serf (Google’s chief internet evangelist who is known as the “father of the internet”), Clint Heiden (QTS Data Centers), Vinay Nagpal (InterGlobix), Ivo Ivanov (DE-CIX), Anthony Romanello (Henrico Economic Development Authority), Staffan Göjeryd (Arelion), Michael Leidinger (Hilton), Vinay Kanitkar (Akamai), Sarah Keller (Uber), Jason Black (NVIDIA), Frank Nazzaro (Freddie Mac) and others. Cerf spoke to attendees of the first conference three years ago by video.

“Henrico has evolved to become the global internet hub in the Mid-Atlantic part of the eastern seaboard of the United States”, said Clint Heiden, Founder of IEIC. “The shifting of almost 18% of all international internet traffic to the region over a short span of four years demonstrates the significant potential that is ahead of us harnessing the true power of these subsea cable systems that connect us across countries and continents, converging with data centers. Henrico has become a role model for regions around the world to follow. ” The link to a short video on Henrico’s digital infrastructure is here.

The IEIC is an independent global committee that promotes internet diversity and resilience through the formation of new global internet nexus points.

The IEIC/NAP Summit 2.0 will feature insight from speakers about a handful of key themes:

• the growth of the internet infrastructure and its implications for the economy;
• subsea cables;
• enterprise digitalization (focus on healthcare, finance, automobile, and other industries);
• economic growth driven by digital infrastructure;
• a look ahead: AI, IoT, connected cars, connected homes, telemedicine and more.

“The creation of new enterprise and new customers in areas ripe for new development is a high priority for this country,” said Cerf. “Henrico can be a bellwether for the opportunity and worked examples raise the economic tide for everyone.
The summit program also will include the official opening of DE-CIX Richmond, the world’s largest ecosystem of data center- and carrier- neutral interconnection platform interconnecting approximately 3,000 networks across its 3-plus locations in more than 100 countries.

“I am looking forward to welcoming industry luminaries both from the U.S. and from various parts of the world across public and private sectors to the summit,” said Vinay Nagpal, founding member and executive director of IEIC. “These luminaries will highlight the importance of digital infrastructure—which is as important (if not more) as other forms of infrastructure such as roads, water, power, and sewer. The team at Henrico has been a big supporter of the digital infrastructure, which has led to tremendous economic growth in the region creating new jobs and new companies.”

Additional details for the summit and registration information is available online at www.ieicco.com/summit-2-0/.