
Chicago Open Pipes
Chicago's first independent, data center-neutral, nonprofit Internet exchange.
Midwest values, local routing.
Locations
Connect at Any of Our Carrier-Neutral Facilities
CH1 - DRT MMR
- 350 E. Cermak Road
- 2nd Floor
- Chicago, IL
CH2 - CoreSite CH1
- 427 S. LaSalle St
- BMMR - Basement
- Chicago, IL
CH5 - Equinix
- 350 E. Cermak Road
- 5th Floor
- Chicago, IL
CH8 - NYI Chicago
- 800 W. Jorie Blvd
- Oak Brook, IL
Founding Members
An internet exchange doesn't work with one network.
You need a group willing to commit together before anyone sees traffic. Our founding members showed up early to help launch public-interest interconnection infrastructure for Chicago and the Midwest.
That deserves recognition. They were here at the beginning, helping build something Chicago and the Midwest will rely on for years to come.
What Founding Members Receive
Founder Badge
A permanent visual marker on our member list and network directory, distinguishing founding members for as long as the exchange operates.

Challenge Coin
A custom commemorative coin presented to each founding member—a physical artifact marking your place in Chicago Open Pipes history.
Our Founding Members
The networks who made Chicago Open Pipes possible




Join as a Founding Member
To become a founding member, turn up a 100G or larger port and start sending traffic. The window closes when we reach 100G of aggregate traffic.
Ready to be part of Chicago's next gen infrastructure?
Port Fees
Cost recovery, not revenue
Port fees support the shared infrastructure that keeps the exchange running — switching hardware, colocation, network operations, and the nonprofit organization that operates it. Fees are set at cost recovery, consistent with our nonprofit mission, and are not used to generate surplus for participants.
Technical Information
Peering Options
- Public peering via route servers
- Private peering (bilateral)
- IPv4 and IPv6 support
Connection Types
- 10GBASE-LR
- 100GBASE-LR1
- 100GBASE-LR4
- 400GBASE-LR8
Requirements
- Autonomous system number (ASN)
- BGP peering
- Cross-connect to our equipment
Ready to Connect?
Join Chicago's community-powered Internet exchange and start peering today.
Questions? Email us at hello@openpipes.net