An Internet eXchange Point (IXP, or IX in some languages) is a physical room or building where network operators meet and exchange trafic. The internet flows on

An Internet eXchange Point (IXP, or IX in some languages) is a physical room or building where network operators meet and exchange trafic. The internet flows on physical cables, but depending on where the data goes different tariffs apply. As an ISP, you will pay a transit company to transport your traffic to areas/operators you don't have connection to (very expensive, especially for small ISPs who get charged >1€/Mbit/s). So there's an incentive to establish direct connection with other operators your traffic may need to reach: that's what an IXP is for. Typically, you pay a membership fee to pay for services (electricity, network cabling), and then you can exchange traffic with everyone there for free (peering). So there's really nothing new, unexpected or exciting about this announcement. It's just an ISP getting ready to exchange more traffic with other ISPs.