HFT in the banana land

For some trading firms, or HFT market-makers, or PTG firms, or whatever the name, latency has become critical. Each microsecond may count, and even a bit of data is important. In order to carry data faster than using optic fibres (most often not optimized to get the best latency), some HFT firms (Amsterdam-based firms Optiver or Flow Traders, or Chicago-based firms Jump Trading, Getco/KCG or DRW) and different microwave providers (such as McKay Brothers or Custom Connect) decided to build from scratch microwave networks to connect the main European exchanges: mainly Frankfurt in Germany (where Eurex is located), Slough in the West of London (where the Equinix data centre hosts Chi-X and other exchanges) and Basildon, of London (where the NYSE-Euronext data centre is). (But some also have microwave routes between Frankfurt and Zurich, between Zurich and Milano, etc.)

Read more or don't ...

#finance