10 June 2008

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has gone live with Performance Channels, a high-speed delivery mechanism for its .NET-based Infolect information system.

The Performance Channels service ensures that even during the highest peaks in trading activity, market data is delivered at high speed. It has been introduced in response to increases in trading capacity and market data volumes which were expected with the introduction of the LSE’s electronic trading platform TradElect. The launch follows the completion of a successful pilot that has been running since TradElect went live in June 2007.

“The introduction of Performance Channels sets a new benchmark for customers requiring the lowest latency connectivity to the London Stock Exchange during peak trading periods,” said David Lester, chief information officer at the LSE. “The introduction 12 months ago of TradElect, our new electronic trading system, has facilitated record volume growth on our markets. The Performance Channels service gives member firms using algorithmic trading models greater visibility of the spikes and events that occur during periods of high trading activity. The immediate delivery of price data during these peaks creates additional trading opportunities. With TradElect and Infolect underpinning our markets, trading participants can be confident of receiving world leading performance, enhanced functionality and more efficient trading.”

Over 40 customers, including the largest member firms, hedge funds and market data vendors have signed up to the Performance Channels service, with more orders in the pipeline. Clients can continue to use the existing Service Channel configuration whereby data peaks are managed during periods of high trading activity to ensure that client systems are not overloaded. Performance Channels is only available through 100-megabyte Extranex lines, which cut the average round-trip network latency within the City to below one millisecond.