By establishing a Japanese junction on one of its North American data links, Internode has improved the speed of data transfers between Australia and Asia, which previously routed through the US.

The Japanese jump-off point simplifies the process of establishing peering agreements with partners in Japan and elsewhere in Asia. It also enables Internode to offer its corporate customers the security of an Internode Business Connect private IP network, linking operations in Australia and North Asia.

Internode national sales manager Daryl Knight said the Japanese Point of Presence provided access to a new market with exciting opportunities for both business and residential customers. "In short, we are already providing this type of service to the USA, so we have simply extended our corporate capability to Asia, the logical next step for corporations in Australia," he said.

"With Australia's major trading partners situated to the north, this new break-out point allows Internode to extend its corporate services to all of Asia. As Japan is a major inter-connect hub for regional carriers, Internode will extend its private IP solutions to Japan and beyond in the same way it currently provides private IP services to the USA for Australian companies."

"Business customers may find this boosts their ability to use Internode to reach Asian destinations more efficiently. Residential customers should find this will improve performance for applications such as VoIP and online gaming into significant parts of Asia. Increasingly, we'll peer with Japanese Internet providers and content backbones."

"This step increases our differentiation in the market, especially to business customers, by positioning Internode as one of the best Australian ISPs for customers with Asian connections."

Internode has established its Japanese Point of Present in Tokyo with an initial 622 megabit-per-second dedicated data link via its existing relationship with Australia-Japan Cable (AJC), which links back to the Internode network via Sydney. The new link went live last week with customers already reporting improved network performance to online resources located in Asia.