Linking Hong Kong to the digital world
CUHK’s internet exchange is dedicated to its mission to connect city as it marks its 30th anniversary
14 January 2026
The internet has transformed society, and Hong Kong’s journey towards becoming an information-based economy owes much to the visionary leadership and innovations of CUHK engineers.
At the centre of this is Hong Kong Internet eXchange (HKIX), founded in 1995 under the inspiration of Professor Sir Charles Kao, former CUHK Vice-Chancellor and President, and fondly remembered as the “father of fibre optics”. Today, it remains a trusted, non-profit platform that connects different local networks with each other, as well as networks in neighbouring territories and countries.
Professors from the Faculty of Engineering serve as directors of HKIX to provide insight and vision, with a 13-member operations team from the CUHK Information Technology Services Centre (ITSC) keeping the services running around the clock.
“The vision and mission of HKIX is to provide reliable and secure internet services to Hong Kong through cost-effective, state-of-the-art infrastructure,” said Professor Tsang Hon-ki, Dean of Engineering and an HKIX board director. “All financial income goes back to HKIX to support its operation and maintenance. We serve on the board as a freely given, unremunerated service to society.”
From Charles Kao’s glass fibres to global connectivity
HKIX’s story began decades before its launch in 1995, with the groundbreaking work of Professor Kao, who in 1966 identified ultra-pure glass fibres as the key to transmitting light over long distances and anticipated the coming of the information age. It was a revolutionary discovery that paved the way for optical fibre technology, leading to rapid development in the field of communications, and one that earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics 43 years later.
As the internet became popular in the United States, Professor Kao decided that CUHK should also connect with the world. Under his leadership, the Faculty of Engineering established Hong Kong’s first internet connection in 1991 – a 64 Kbps leased satellite link to NASA’s Ames Research Center in California. The link was part of the Pacific Communication Community Project managed by the University of Hawaii.
According to Professor Tsang, that link opened the door for Hong Kong researchers to access global networks directly, enabling them to communicate via email in real time for the first time. At the same time, CUHK took over the management of the primary “.hk” domain name server from Harvard University. Other local universities started to use the internet link via CUHK one by one.
In 1992, when the Hong Kong Academic and Research Network, a joint initiative among local tertiary institutions, was established, CUHK continued to serve as the gateway, handling technical operations, coordination and support.
A trusted, neutral hub for all
Fast forward to 1995. Commercial internet service providers (ISPs) were sprouting across Hong Kong but they were not connecting with each other. Sending an email from one ISP to another often meant data travelling all the way to the United States and then back to Hong Kong – a slow, costly, inefficient model.
CUHK offered a solution: setting up a hub where ISPs could exchange local traffic within Hong Kong. HKIX was established.
“CUHK’s neutrality was key,” Professor Tsang notes. “We weren’t competing with anyone. We just wanted to make the internet better for Hong Kong.”
Initially operated by CUHK’s own staff and using its own equipment, HKIX quickly became the beating heart of Hong Kong’s internet, providing low-cost and effective connections.
Thirty years on, HKIX, a self-financed subsidiary of CUHK, is recognised by the Hong Kong SAR government as “critical internet infrastructure”, and remains a sizeable internet exchange hub and the only non-profit one in the city.
As of April 2025, the exchange point connects 322 ISPs and handles a staggering 3,000 Gbps-plus of traffic at peak times – a volume equivalent to some 200,000 households streaming a 4K movie at the same time. It has clients including government departments, major banks and global tech players.
“Think of HKIX as an international airport,” explained Kenneth Chan Yiu-fung, Chief Operations Officer of HKIX. “The more connections you have, the more options for a faster and smoother journey. HKIX gives Hong Kong that advantage in the digital world.”
Thanks to the city’s geographical advantage, HKIX is well connected to neighbouring regions. With nine resellers based in East and Southeast Asia, it offers lightning-fast connections throughout the region. Its five satellite sites and one reseller site across Hong Kong make it easier and more cost-effective for participants to connect.
Embracing the future
Professor Tsang said HKIX is seeking to expand and upgrade its network switches to cope with the ever growing traffic and maintain the status of the hub, as well as strengthening connectivity to the Chinese Mainland.
He noted: “As multimedia and streaming activities as well as the use of generative AI proliferate across the region, we’re upgrading our infrastructure to meet the demand and enhance user experience.”
He added that HKIX is ready to rise to new challenges and ensure Hong Kong remains a global technology leader – just as it has for the past 30 years.
By Eva Choy
Photos by D. Lee
