IPC Systems, a leading provider of indispensible trading communications solutions to the world's top financial services firms and global enterprises, has upgraded its core network delivery infrastructure to consolidate both electronic trading and voice connectivity to the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the largest U.S. options exchange and creator of listed options.
Following the recent upgrade IPC has implemented dedicated Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to the CBOE, providing participants with both voice and electronic trading connectivity to CBOE's equity, index and exchange-traded fund (ETF) options contracts.
The announcement is part of a major IPC initiative to accelerate the global coverage of its dedicated financial network. IPC's financial network links 200 cities in 60 countries across six continents, connecting thousands of financial market trading participants into a single community linked by the company's secure private network. IPC has made strategic investments in the network and has helped the company's Electronic Connectivity Services (ECS) grow by 88 percent in a one year period by offering liquidity and execution access for an increasingly broad range of assets and venues.
"Trading technology is a competitive factor, with the bar constantly being raised in terms of speed and efficiency," said Curt Schumacher, CBOE Chief Technology Officer, Systems Operations. "Providing CBOE's customers with the widest range of connectivity options -- including services that take advantage of IPC's recent network delivery infrastructure upgrade and increased bandwidths -- made sense for the CBOE."
"Chicago is an essential destination for today's financial market participants, and the CBOE is a key part of the city's financial trading success. Upgrading our voice and data connectivity to CBOE makes good sense for IPC," added Dave Brown, senior vice president, Global Network Operations, IPC Systems. "This announcement also extends our commitment to Chicago following our recent decision to install our core network infrastructure in Equinix's Chicago Financial eXchange, which now offers one of the densest interconnection points in today's global financial markets."
IPC's ECS platform is built on a global networking infrastructure focused exclusively on providing financial institutions with connectivity for all aspects of their trade lifecycle. Specifically engineered for electronic trading applications, the IPC network allows organizations to benefit from secure, dedicated bandwidth, take advantage of scalable and flexible connectivity capabilities, and support their evolving electronic trading requirements.