The Internet Ecosystem Innovation Committee (IEIC), an independent committee that promotes internet diversity and resilience through the formation of new global internet nexus points, today announced that Uber, has joined as a founding member.

Dr. Jason Black, Head of Global Network Infrastructure at Uber Technologies, will be representing the company alongside the IEIC’s other founding members. Black leads Uber’s global network infrastructure team and has helped to build a multi-billion dollar web scale company and world-class network to sustain current traffic levels and support organic growth in conjunction with roadmap development, planning and execution.

The Internet requires networks to exchange traffic (peering points). Since the advent of the Internet, these peering points have largely been concentrated in a relatively small number of buildings where networks are concentrated. The reliance on a limited number of peering locations creates risk and limits opportunity for more communities to participate in the Internet’s growth and economic potential.

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“As new applications are developed and the demand for bandwidth continues to grow unabated, this concentration of Internet traffic exchange points may turn from an easy way to peer to a growing risk based on a lack of diversity,” said Clint Heiden, Founder of the IEIC and Chief Revenue Officer of QTS Realty Trust. “Jason is a technology and business visionary with a background in engineering, mathematics, international business administration and computer information sciences and a welcome addition to the IEIC team with his ability of being able to sift through complex issues and ideas.”

Large internet business models like Uber are acutely aware of the limitations and dependency on Internet exchange points which are critical to their success. The IEIC’s mission is to collaborate with communities globally to create new internet nexus points through partnership with local municipalities, academia and businesses.

“The IEIC is an organization assisting the digital economy globally and I firmly believe in the importance of their mission,” Black said. “Now more than ever during these uncertain times we witnessed the congestion of service providers and capacity constraints. Now is the time to look ahead for cloud service or content providers to ensure that they are building ahead of the next pandemic or unforeseen event.”

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“The IEIC is a collaborative organization coming together at a time when we all must recognize the importance of Internet reliability in the new digital economy,” said Dr. Vint Cerf, Google Chief Internet Evangelist and co-Founder of the Internet. “The malleability of the layered Internet continues to surprise and gratify me as many others look for new ways to apply this very general infrastructure.”

The IEIC is preparing to announce an upcoming Virtual Summit Series beginning in late May 2020 featuring notable industry leaders including Dr. Vint Cerf and Dr. Ken Washington, CTO of Ford Motor Company. The online series will address key considerations for enterprise and government leaders in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic that is reshaping our society into a global remote workforce.  Each Virtual Series event will feature a live 20 minute keynote address from a recognized industry leader followed by 40 minute panel discussions with participating CEOs, CTOs, and COOs from industry giants, universities and municipalities such as Google, Ford Motor Company, Cigna, Uber, Hilton, Telia Carrier, CenturyLink, Ciena, Blade, Freddie Mac, Telxius, Virginia Commonwealth University, Henrico County and others.

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