Press Releases
2023/11/28
BBIX and OPTAGE Sign Strategic Partnership with Open Connectivity eXchange
November 28, 2023
BBIX, Inc.
BBSakura Networks, Inc.
OPTAGE Inc.
BBIX and OPTAGE Sign Strategic Partnership with Open Connectivity eXchange
～BBIX to expand OCX footprint to “Shinsaibashi POP”～
BBIX, Inc. (“BBIX”), a subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. that operates an Internet Exchange (“IX”) business, entered into a strategic partnership agreement with OPTAGE Inc. (“OPTAGE”), a group company of the Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., on Open Connectivity eXchange (“OCX”), a cloud-based network service. With this partnership agreement, BBIX will add the OCX connection point in OPTAGE’s “Shinsaibashi POP” on April 1, 2024.
OCX is a cloud-based network service provided by BBIX and BBSakura Networks, Inc. (“BBSakura”), a network solutions provider and subsidiary of BBIX. OCX provides on-demand, highly secure, low-latency, scalable connectivity services to a variety of cloud services and data centers used by customers.
OPTAGE provides connectivity services at “Shinsaibashi POP” in the convenient and reliable data center in Shinsaibashi. “Shinsaibashi POP” is located in close proximity to the Dojima and Shinsaibashi areas, which are the hubs of IX and cloud POP in the Kansai region, and by utilizing its own optical fiber, OPTAGE provides an environment that can be stably connected to those locations with low latency.
Through this strategic partnership, BBIX will provide OCX, which utilizes BBIX’s flexible and highly scalable network infrastructure and BBSakura’s advanced software development capabilities, to customers through OPTAGE’s convenient and reliable data center. In combination with this activity, BBIX and OPTAGE will continue to take on the challenge of creating future value for the customers by utilizing cutting-edge technology to promote and accelerate DX (Digital Transformation).
■Partnership Model
■Executive Comments
Michikazu Fukuchi, Executive Vice President, Board Director and COO, BBIX, Inc.
“We are very pleased to collaborate with OPTAGE as the first telecommunications carrier with an electric power company affiliation. By combining OCX with OPTAGE’s data center and fiber-optic services, we can provide high-quality network services and promote DX. We will continue to strengthen our ties with electric power telecommunications carriers and strive to contribute to the business growth of our customers in various regions throughout Japan.”
Hideyuki Sasaki, President and CEO, BBSakura Networks, Inc.
“We sincerely welcome OPTAGE’s participation in OCX. Through this collaboration, OCX services will be available at OPTAGE’s ‘Shinsaibashi POP’, which can be easily connected to other data centers participating in OCX, and we would like to use this opportunity to build various solutions through OCX and promote DX together in the Kansai region.”
Masahiko Nabe, President, OPTAGE Inc.
“We are very pleased to be collaborating with BBIX and BBSakura Networks, the leaders in the telecommunications industry for IX and network services. The ‘Shinsaibashi POP’, which will be opened prior to the ‘Sonezaki Data Center’ (scheduled for January 2026), will serve as a connection point for OCX, making it possible to easily connect to many data centers outside the Dojima and Shinsaibashi areas. Through this collaboration, we will promote DX for our customers and contribute to the development of the Kansai region.”
■ About BBIX
Company Name: BBIX, Inc.
URL: https://www.bbix.net/en/
Headquarters: 1-9-10 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Hidetoshi Ikeda, President & CEO
Date of establishment: June 13, 2003
Capital: 100 million yen
Ownership: 100% owned by SoftBank Corp.
Business: Telecommunications operator under Japan’s Telecommunications Business Act; leasing, maintenance & management of telecommunications equipment; development, sales, maintenance & management of computer hardware/software
■ About BBSakura
Company Name: BBSakura Networks, Inc.
URL: https://www.bbsakura.net/en/
Headquarters: 7-20-1 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Hideyuki Sasaki, President & CEO
Date of establishment: August 1, 2019
Capital: 200 million yen
Ownership: BBIX, Inc. 51%, SAKURA internet Inc. 49%
Business: Telecommunications operator under Japan’s Telecommunications Business Act; leasing, maintenance & management of telecommunications equipment; development, sales, maintenance & management of computer hardware/software
■ About OPTAGE
Company Name: OPTAGE Inc.URL: https://optage.co.jp/
Headquarters: 2-1-5 Shiromi, Chuo-ku, Osaka
Representative: Masahiko Nabe, President
Date of establishment: April 2, 1988
Capital: 330 million yen
Ownership: 100% owned by the Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc.
Business: Telecommunications, Cable broadcasting, Electric power retailing, Security Services, Design, installation, sale, installment sale, lease, maintenance and operation of machines, apparatus and equipment related to telecommunications and cable broadcasting
● The company names and service names described in this press release are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies.
● The content, products, specifications, contact information and other information contained in this press release are as of the date of announcement. This information is subject to change without notice.
BBIX, Inc.
